r and s again

[Sheila Watts]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Since this is turning into a whole collection of r and s/z stories, here's
another one.
 
English names with a first syllable in CVr- are frequently turned into an
affectionate form with an -l replacing the -r: Mary to Molly, Harry to Hal,
Dorothy to Dolly and, for more modern examples, Derek to Del and Terry to
Tel. However, there are also names in which the r tends to become z -
Sharon to Shaz(za) and Barry to Baz(za), for instance (alongside names
where the z is simply voicing, as in Gazza from Gascoigne). Is anyone aware
of any work on this - what triggers the choice between l and z, for
instance?There is clearly a dialect factor of some kind: if I judge it
correctly, these are London forms, certainly not current in my native
Ireland.
 
Sheila Watts
 
_______________________________________________________
Dr Sheila Watts
Newnham College
Cambridge CB3 9DF
United Kingdom
 
phone +44 1223 335816