Etymology of "Ska"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jun 11, 2005, at 9:13 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:

>> There was *something* about those /l/s in the way she sang
>> "Lollipop"; can anyone help identify the relevant phonetic feature?
>> I can still hear it in my mind's ear 40 years later...
>>
>
> I remember the song but I don't remember that.
>
> A 1-minute sample of what I think is the right version can be
> played at
> http://www.juno.co.uk/products/179502-01.htm
>
> ... and to my layman's ear it sounds like the "l" in
> "love" (although not
> in "lollipop") in this segment is pronounced /lj/ (or else
> palatalized like
> Spanish-Spanish "ll").

a palatal l, very striking in "love".  to my ear, the first l of
"lollipop" lacks velarization, but is not backed nearly as much.

arnold