"saditty" and North versus South

[Wilson Gray]

Amen, Ron.

-Wilson

On Tue, Jul 29, 2008 at 11:16 AM,  <RonButters at aol.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       RonButters at AOL.COM
> Subject:      "saditty" and North versus South
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In a message dated 7/28/08 10:36:47 AM, gcohen at MST.EDU writes:
>
>
>>=20
>>=20
>> As for the pronunciation, suh-DITT-eh, perhaps this is merely an altered=20
>> form.=A0 Southern speech often stresses the first syllable (e.g., PO-lice,=
> =20
>> IN-surance), whereas Northern speech stresses the second one (po-LEESE,=20
>> in-SUR-ance).=A0 So maybe an original "SAT-iddy" (> SAD-itty) was transfor=
> med on Northern=20
>> soil to sa-DITT-ee.
>>=20
> As I recall, there is a general tendency in American English to shift stress=
> =20
> to the initial syllable--that is, it is not just a North-versus-South thing.=
> =20
> In Iowa in the 1950s when I was a lad, PO-leese was stigmatized ("plice" was=
> =20
> the common folk pronunciation), but one heard "INsurance" and "ICE cream" in=
> =20
> colloquial speech. I can't think of any instance in which a word with standa=
> rd=20
> pronunciation on the first syllable shifted to the second syllable in colloq=
> uial=20
> speech in the North (or South). I've never heard SaDITTy, North or South, an=
> d=20
> would assume that it was a stunt pronunciation or joke if I heard it in a=20
> context where it seemed to mean 'Saturday'.=20
>
>
>
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All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
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-----
 -Sam'l Clemens

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