Spelling errors as a reflection of non-standard speech

[Jonathan Lighter]

Isn't nonstandard "chimbley" relevant here?

JL

Geoff Nathan <an6993 at WAYNE.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Geoff Nathan
Subject: Re: Spelling errors as a reflection of non-standard speech
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At 01:13 PM 7/23/2004, you wrote:

Isn't this a relatively common
source of sound change?  Two examples

that come to mind are "humble" (< Lat. humilis) and Gk.
"andro-" (as

in "androgyny", "android", etc.) from earlier Gk.
"aner" ('male

human').  And I'm pretty sure the -b- in Span. "hombre" is
the same

sort of interpolated stop (Lat. homo, hominis, orig. from the same

"humus" root as "humble").

Not only is it a common source of sound change, but in fact
the same etymon underwent the same change in French, leading to chamBre
'room', which, of course, is what CAMERA originally meant.  Wheels
within wheels...


Geoff



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