Off-gliding to G

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:18 AM -0400 9/27/09, Wilson Gray wrote:
>It's been said that it's the middle lass that strives to maintain the
>purity of RP.

And bully for her, I say!

LH

>  The under classes have no occasion to learn RP and the
>upper classes are free to speak as they please, having no need to
>impress their betters, since they have none.
>
>-Wilson
>
>On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 7:19 PM, Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at gmail.com> wrote:
>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>  Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
>>  Subject:      Re: Off-gliding to G
>>
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  Lord Peter also uses "ain't" freely.  This went out of favor in the
>>  18th c. because of the success of the self-help books, including
>>  grammars, that, of course, the nobility never bothered to read.
>>
>>  Herb
>>
>>  On Sat, Sep 26, 2009 at 5:54 PM, Alison Murie <sagehen7470 at att.net> wrote:
>>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>-----------------------
>>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>  Poster:       Alison Murie <sagehen7470 at ATT.NET>
>>>  Subject:      Re: Off-gliding to G
>>>
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>  On Sep 25, 2009, at 2:43 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>>
>>>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>>  -----------------------
>>>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>  Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>>>>  Subject:      Re: Off-gliding to G
>>>>
>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>  At 1:37 PM -0500 9/25/09, Barbara Need wrote:
>>>>>  Lynne,
>>>>>
>>>>>  I wonder how much this might be a reaction to the "g-dropping" in
>>>>>  participles (huntin', fishing', etc.). I have assumed that this was a
>>>>>  shibboleth in England based on its treatment in mysteries (there's at
>>>>>  least one Agatha Christie in which it is a clue!).
>>>>>
>>>>>  Barbara
>>>>
>>>>  Dorothy Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey affects this "g-dropping" in
>>>>  participles as an instance of reverse snobbery (as I understand it).
>>>>
>>>>  LH
>>>  ~~~~~~~~~~
>>>  I think Wimsey's dropped g's are meant to reflect a general upper
>>>  class dialect: one that may be affected to show a kind of insouciance,
>>>  rather than reverse snobbery.
>>>  AM
>>>  My ISP choked on this giving me time to read Paul Johnston's post
>>>  which sort of confirms my impression.
>>>
>>>  ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
>>
>>  ------------------------------------------------------------
>>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
>--
>-Wilson
>---
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
>to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-Mark Twain
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org