Didn't as [dIdInt]

Charles C Doyle cdoyle at UGA.EDU
Tue Jun 24 11:59:09 UTC 2014



I hear this a lot, especially among the young.

Maybe a trend? In recent years, I've also noticed that young people often pronounce the (now) common forename Jordan with the final syllable [-dIn] or [-d at n] (probably actually a barred-I).  Could the awareness of spelling be a factor?

Perhaps not dissimilar is the varied pronunciation of the name Milton.  I (who am not young) regularly pronounce the final syllable as [-t at n], whereas many others just do that syllabic  [-n] thing.

--Charlie
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Poster:       Jonathan Lighter 
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I've heard this only in very emphatic speech.  And not often.

JL




On Mon, Jun 23, 2014 at 10:55 PM, Neal Whitman 
wrote:


> My father sent me this message. I hadn't noticed this; has any of you?
> He lives in Houston, Texas, and the person he reports on grew up in
> Corpus Christi.
>
> Neal
>
>
>     Hi Neal.
>
>     I?'d like to hear your commentary on something I have noticed a lot
>     lately.It annoys me to no end.Many people these days, at least
>     around here and especially on TV (and [a guy he knows] does it) is
>     to pronounce contractions like didn?t as didint, instead of the
>     obvious ?did? followed by an ?nt? sound. Similarly they pronounce
>     couldn?t as couldint and wouldn?t as woodint, etc.Is this a regional
>     thing?Or a dialect of some sort?Or is it bad grammar or diction or
>     some affectation or just plain ignorance?How long have people been
>     saying this, and what is its origin if you know?
>
>     Love,
>
>     Dad
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