-SS -> -ST?

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

Variability in the pronunciation ow words ending in final s and final
consonant clusters ending in s + another consonant is generally common in American
English. There seems to be a great deal of individual variation. The general
tendency seems to be towards the simplification of such clusters, so that, e.g.,
WASP becomes WAS', LIST becomes LIS', and TASK becomes TAS'. But people also
hypercorrect and miscorrect, so that WASP becomes WAST, LIST might become LISK,
etc. PARIS becoming PARIST would, I think, be a part of the more general
hypercorrection phenomenon.

In a message dated 11/26/06 3:03:14 AM, guy1656 at OPUSNET.COM writes:


> My sister heard someone ask "Have you ever been to Paris-t?"
>
> She said she believed that since '-st' is much more common than '-ss' in
> English, that people slip into it, such as in 'across-t the street.'
>
> Comments?
>
> - GLL
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org