Early (?) /a/ for /C/

[Jonathan Lighter]

In the two-star movie "The Very Thought of You" (1944), nine- or
ten-year-old kid (presumably from Southern California) says, "Your mom
squawks a lot! But I bet my mom squawks more!" (Or virtually those exact
words.)

At first it made no sense, because he "clearly" said "squats a lot," with
the identical vowel in both nouns. Then a he said "squats more!"  Two or
three seconds later I figured it out.

Was this child Ground Zero for an America in decline?

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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