Didn't as [dIdInt]

[Laurence Horn]

On Jun 24, 2014, at 9:29 AM, Joel S. Berson wrote:

> At 6/24/2014 08:24 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>> I've always done that syllabic thing with "Milton" because as a New Yorker
>> I do the same nasalized thing with "mountain" and "countin'."
> 
> If I had had a childhood acquaintance in NYC, I might have called him "Mil-tn".  But to me the poet and revered republican is "Mill-ton".
> 
Nice minimal pair!  I'm not sure I consistently do that for the poet, though.  I definitely contrast "Milton" (uncle) with "Will-ton" (Wilton, CT), and "tauntin'" with "Taun-ton" (Mass.), and have the strong sense that I'd reduce Wilton and Taunton if I lived in or near those towns, but the poet could go either way.  I agree with JL on "mountain" and "countin'", but the Abbey is "Down-ton".

LH

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