[Ads-l] Pronunciation of "faith" and "also" in parts of Alabama

[Charlie Law]

[Ugh. Still got these pesky character-encoding probs. Here's another try.]

Thanks, Walter! That's an explanation that makes sense to me.

It shows how hypercorrection doesn't follow the derivational pattern that
it's evidently motivated by: "width" < "wide", "breadth" < "broad",
="fai[t]th" < ???.

Now, can you tell me what's going on with "al[t]so"?

Similar case: in Florence, Alabama, and in Shelby, NC, I heard this
pronunciation of the 28th president's surname: "Wil[t]son". This must be
the same inland Southern (piedmont, not mountain) dialect that I hear in
upstate S.C.

(Yes, the bowtie is nice, except that it gets Alpo stains when I eat my
breakfast.)



On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 7:07 PM, Charles Law <chaslaw at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles Law <chaslaw at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Pronunciation of "faith" and "also" in parts of Alabama
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Thanks, Walter! That=E2=80=99s an explanation that makes sense to me.=20
>
> It shows how hypercorrection doesn=E2=80=99t follow derivational pattern
> that it=E2=
> =80=99s evidently motivated by: =E2=80=9Cwidth=E2=80=9D <
> =E2=80=9Cwide=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cbreadth=E2=80=9D < =E2=80=9Cbro=
> ad=E2=80=9D, =E2=80=9Cfai[t]th=E2=80=9D < ???.=20
>
> Now, can you tell me what=E2=80=99s going on with
> =E2=80=9Cal[t]so=E2=80=9D?=20
>
> Similar case: in Florence, Alabama, and in Shelby, NC, I heard this
> pronunc=
> iation of the 28th president=E2=80=99s surname:
> =E2=80=9CWil[t]son=E2=80=9D.
>
> (Yes, the bowtie is nice, except that it gets Alpo stains when I eat my
> bre=
> akfast.)
>
>
>
> On 3/2/16, 4:48 PM, "American Dialect Society on behalf of W Brewer"
> <ADS-L=
> @LISTSERV.UGA.EDU on behalf of brewerwa at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> ------------------=
> -----
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       W Brewer <brewerwa at GMAIL.COM>
> >Subject:      Re: Pronunciation of "faith" and "also" in parts of Alabama
>
> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
> >
> >  Well, looks like the dialectologists are hibernating, so this is my
> >opportunity to consult my trusty old Arthur Bonstein handbook.
> >  RE: <faith> ~ <fai[t]th>:
> >(1) Probably not an "excrescent [t]", that just grew in there as a
> >homorganic interdental t, for some unknown reason.
> >(2) Possibly, hypercorrection. Bronstein notes that "In careless or
> >indistinct speech, the /t/ or /d/ may be lost, especially when final or in
> >certain clusters, as in ... <eighth, width, breadth> ..." Note how
> ><eight+th> is even written <eighth>, but some people may feel it sounds
> >better to stick the plosive <t> back in; and, not only that, add one into
> ><faith> for good measure. Can't think of any better parallels offhand.
> >  Cute bow tie, Charlie.
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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