"di?nt" (with glottal stop)

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated  Mon, 15 Nov 2004 00:31:21 -0500,  Wilson Gray
<wilson.gray at RCN.COM> writes:

>  Until ca.1961, I never heard the glottal stop used by anyone, black or
>  white, except in British movies.

Di?nt you ever hear anyone say "uh-oh" when something went wrong or use
"uh-uh" (sometimes spelt "unh-uh") as a negative mumble?  MWCD10 has "uh-oh" dated
with a surprisingly late 1971 as pronounced "usu with strong glottal stops
before the vowels) and "uh-uh" dated as "ca. 1924" as pronounced "two [nasal] m's
or two [nasal] n's preceded by glottal stops".

English, the only Indo-European language to have dispensed with gutturals in
recorded history, is also the first Indo-European language to introduce
glottal stops!

> I first noted its use by kids in Roxbury (the
>  Harlem of Boston, as it were) about ten years ago.

"How can I afford to see my sister in Chelsea/ or my cousin in Rox-bur-ee?"
so Charlie on the MTA was African-American?

>  one of my own brothers, a Federal judge in California.

an ambiguity here: is the Honorable Judge the son of your father and/or
mother?

(can't find the reference): I don't doubt your are right about Frederick Law
Olmstead.  I have not read any of his work, and I could not remember when
mentioning him whether he was considered an Abolitionist or merely a reporter.

An interesting rumor I heard yesterday:  Cheney is going to resign as Vice
President and Bush is going to appoint Colin Powell in his place.  Highly
unlikely, I think---had Powell been interested in elective office, he would have run
for something back in the 1990's.  I must say that Powell would make a better
President than either Bush II or Kerry.

        - James A. Landau