r --> z

[Charles Doyle]

In American English, Charleses are sometimes called "Chaz," but I've always assumed that that nickname is based on the orthographic abbreviation "Chas."

--Charlie
_______________________________________________

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:10:04 +0100
>From: Lynne Murphy <m.l.murphy at SUSSEX.AC.UK>
>Subject: r --> z
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>Is it common for /r/ to change to [z]?
>
>I'm wondering about a set of UK/Australian nicknames:
>
>Barry --> Bazza
>Sharon/Sharapova --> Shazza (also Shazzer)
>Maurice --> Mozza  (and more famously, Morrissey-->Mozza)
>Boris --> Bozza
>Charles/Charlotte --> Chazza
>Antony Worrall Thompson --> Wozza
>Gary --> Gazza
>Cheryl/Cherie/Sheryl --> Chezza/Shezza
>
>(stole several of these from the Wikipedia article on 'Zza nicknames':http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zza_nicknames.)
>
>Other famous ones involve some kind of sibilant at the start of the reduced syllable:

>Heseltine --> Hezza
>Prescott --> Prezza
>Gascoigne --> Gazza
>
>The only one in the Wikipedia article that doesn't follow one of these patterns was Gavin-->Gazza, but we can assume that he's only Gazza because he was dating a Chazza.
>
>Any explanation for why -zza would be what the r-starting syllable would be 'weakened' to?  (I'm obviously no phonetician, though I have played one in first-year lectures.)  I suppose the tongue is in the same neighbourhood and  both r and z are voiced, but do similar things happen in other contexts?
>
>Lynne

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