isoglosses for hw/w

[David Bowie]

From:    RonButters at AOL.COM

> My memory is hazy and the hour is late, but I recall that the loss of
> aspiration was traditionally thought of as a feature of "Midland" speech, especially
> the "North Midland." As such, one would expect AAVE to have preserved the
> distinction longer, being a "South Midland/Southern" dialect. All of this has been
> pretty well documented, though, and there is really no need for anecdotal
> speculation--one can look it up pretty easily, I'd think.

Not sure if it's worth the electrons, but the hw/w distinction may not
be well, but it is certainly very much alive along the Wasatch Front of
Utah. And yet i remember being taught at one point that the US West was
simply what happened when the North Midland expanded westward...

(Maybe we need a "Lies my lx professors told me" thread. :)

--
David Bowie                               University of Central Florida
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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