"Ho"

[Charles Doyle]

Recently we have discussed the orthographic and lexemic differentiation of "dialect" pronunciations from "standard" pronunciations in regard to "curse"/"cuss" and "naked"/"nekkid"; what about the timely "whore"/"ho"?  In class I have had female students express astonished displeasure that I use the word "whore" in reference to Mary Magdalen; yet these same students (mostly white females) can be heard playfully referring to each other as "ho."

What IS the current status of "ho," sociolinguistically speaking? Certainly it differs from "whore." At a folklore conference a couple of years ago, I heard a paper about parties held by campus organizations (in California, not Georgia!) titled "Pimps and Ho's [sic]" and "Ho's and Bro's" (as well as "White Trash" parties).  The (white) participants don costumes, tattoos, appropriate coiffures, jewelry, etc.

And speaking of my students, especially in my Milton classes: My native and natural pronunciation of “naked” is [nEkId]. I sometimes (especially when reading aloud from _Paradise Lost_) actually TRY to say [nekId], but the result is still usually found guffaw- (or at least giggle-) worthy. Most of my students nowadays come from the upscale suburbs of Atlanta, first- and second-generation immigrants to Georgia from the Northern states.

--Charlie
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