/l/ vocalization

[Mark Mandel]

On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 6:28 AM, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:

> Wilson,
>
> I've always taken these to be hypercorrections by those of us who
> vocalilze our postvocallic /l/s. They were very common pronunciations
> in my parts of the South Midlands (Southern IL & IN, and Northern and
> Western KY among older working class speakers, white and black.

"Ellum" is attested from New England 150 years ago:

> The hubs of logs from the "Settler's ellum," --
> Last of its timber, -- they could n't sell 'em,
>

>From "The Deacon's Masterpiece Or, The Wonderful 'One-Hoss Shay': A
Logical Story", by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. 1858.

poem: http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Oliver-Wendell-Holmes/16658
date: http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1972/1/1972_1_108.shtml

--
Mark Mandel

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