army ranks [was: assorted comments]
Dennis R. Preston
preston at MSU.EDU
Fri Mar 31 17:39:41 UTC 2006
Could, but this is less well-established in US English than the
well-known Bristol l (with the exception, perhaps, of the ideal-ideal
substitution.
dInIs
>On 3/31/06, Dennis R. Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
>>
>> The 'calvary' pronunciaqtion is much less frequent in
>>l-vocalization dialects.
>>
>> The principal motivation for 'calvary' is the -lr- coda-onset
>> proximity in 'cavalry.' If the /l/ has been vocalized, that proximity
>> is no longer an issue and 'cavary' is a good pronunciation for both
>> items.
>
>In that case, couldn't the "calvary" pronunciation occur as a
>hypercorrection of sorts among l-vocalizers who have lost the "l" and
>are unsure of where to reinsert it? (Somewhat like the rhoticization
>of "warsh" and "Warshington"?)
>
>
>--Ben Zimmer
>
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>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036 USA
Office: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755
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