antedating (?) "Katy, bar the door" (1890)

[Laurence Horn]

At 3:49 PM -0400 10/10/07, Charles Doyle wrote:
>As someone dwelling in Old Yeller country, I would assume that the
>"-er" spelling at the end of "yeller" (as well as in friendly or
>affectionate "feller") usually indicates /@/. Which is not to say
>that [r] doesn't intrude sometimes, but perhaps less frequently than
>in "r-less" dialects of the northeastern US (JFK's nemesis "Cuber")?
>
>--Charlie

Oh right, "feller".  Also "holler" ('declivity'), "winder", and
"tater".  I see now that there's a "regional note" under "holler" in
the AHD4 , but it indicates all these are indeed pronounced
rhotically in the relevant (Appalachian) area, which is, of course, a
rhotic area.  So I'm a bit confused still.  Are there two different
processes involved, which overlap and clash?

LH

>_____________________________________________________________
>
>
>>
>>Not just the Brits.  Am I writing in assuming, as I always have,
>>that "yeller" as in "high yeller" (for skin pigmentation) or "Old
>>Yeller" (for the eponymous pooch) is so written to indicate final
>>/@/ rather than the standard /o/, and that the rhotic pronunciation
>>is essentially the same as that below (or in "Eeyore")?
>>
>>LH
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org