New Jersey Dialects

[Wilson Gray]

On Oct 20, 2004, at 4:27 PM, Dennis R. Preston wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: New Jersey Dialects
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Not if you're announcing the big truck rally over to the fairgrounds
> on SUN-DAY! I can get me a /de/ out of that easy.
>
> dInIs
>

In the Greater Los angeles Metropolitan Area there's a town named "El
Monte." This name is normally pronounced [El 'manti in anglospeak.
However, when local DJ's are promoting the big R&B show, they pronounce
the name as [El 'mante], as in "EL MON-TAY LEGION STADIUM! SUN-DAY!
SUN-DAY! SUN-DAY! BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!"

-Wilson Gray

>
>> You are correct, dinis - I reversed 'em. I would have to practice a
>> lot to say
>> /-de/.
>>
>> Beth'ny Kay
>>
>>> ===== Original Message From American Dialect Society
>>> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> =====
>>> Bethany,
>>>
>>> I think you mean "Not me" not "Me too." Alice said she had the latter
>>> (the /e/ form). If you don't have an /i/ form I'm gone reassess where
>>> you're from.
>>>
>>> dInIs
>>>
>>>>>>> particular feature they were picking at was a tendency (which I
>>>>>>> have no
>>>>>> knowledge if it's so or not) to pronounce the names of the days
>>>>>> of the
>> week
>>>>>> as "Mondee, Tuesdee" etc instead of "Monday, Tuesday".
>>>>>
>>>>> What's the difference?
>>>>>
>>>>> /i/ vs /e/. I have the latter, and the former sounds distinctly
>>>>> unnatural to me.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks, Me too, It sounds really weird to me to hear /-de/.
>>>>
>>>> Bethany
>
>
> --
> Dennis R. Preston
> University Distinguished Professor
> Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic,
>         Asian and African Languages
> Wells Hall A-740
> Michigan State University
> East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
> Office: (517) 353-0740
> Fax: (517) 432-2736
>