Didn't as [dIdInt]

[Jim Parish]

Laurence Horn wrote, of Milton Berle:
> For me, that one is definitely of the co-articulated alveolar + 
> glottal = stop followed by syllabic "n" variety, because we knew him 
> well and = because the Milton was followed immediately by a clarifying 
> Berle. But = I had a childhood friend named Milton Goldsmith who I 
> would have = referred to in speaking to those who didn't know him, 
> especially if I = was speaking on the phone, as "Mill-ton". I think. 
> With JL's help, I'm = beginning to doubt myself on this, but I'm sure 
> about "Wilton", = "Taunton", and "Downton". (The fact that "Downton" 
> fails to rhyme with = "fountain"/"mountain" for me may be partly 
> attributable to the former's = upper-crusted Britishness.

One might also recall the '60s cartoon "Milton the Monster"; in the 
opening song, the title character definitely pronounced his name ("I'm 
Mil-ton, your brand new son!") with a schwa in the second syllable. I 
don't recall whether it was pronounced with syllabic "n" elsewhere in 
the cartoon, though.

Jim Parish

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