Didn't as [dIdInt]

[Joel S. Berson]

At 6/24/2014 11:00 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> > the Abbey is "Down-ton".
>
>Not to me. None of your minimal pairs strike resounding chord in this house.

I'm nearly identical with Larry, I think.  With some wavering. 
Tauton?  Tautin?  (for the town).

Jon, how about Berle?  And spoken by someone more cultured than Mortimer.

Joel


>JL
>
>
>On Tue, Jun 24, 2014 at 10:56 AM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
>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: Didn't as [dIdInt]
> >
> > 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > 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'."
> > >=20
> > > 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".
> > >=20
> > 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
> >
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