Yags and other onomastic peculiarities

[Roger Wright]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------


I think it has certainly generalized a bit.
At least, my son has taken to referring to the BBC Programme
"Newsnight", featuring Jeremy Paxman, as "The Jezza Pazza Show".
                                        RW


On Mon, 5 Feb 2001, Richard Coates wrote:

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>The strategy of replacing the /r/ of a name truncated to end in /r/ with
>/z(@)/ isn't restricted to names with stressed /ae/ in the UK. I've heard:
>
>Jeremy > Jez
>Miriam > Miz
>Laurence > Loz (conflict, Larry!)
>
>The generalization seems to involve a short V in V1 position.
>
>It seems to be in competition with a much rarer tendency to replace the /r/
>with /l/, as in:
>
>Terence > Tel (unless restricted to football managers - I've heard Tez too)
>Derek > Del
>
>Now I come to think of it, all the people I know so called are over about 55!
>Maybe there's an age factor.
>
>On the age front, when is the first /r/ > /z/ that people know of? I am aware
>of someone with the surname Harriman being called /haez@/ and another with the
>surname Farrar /faez/ around 1960-4.
>
>Richard Coates
>
>--
>Richard Coates
>School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
>University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
>
>Tel.: +44 (0)1273 678030 (secretary Jackie Gains)
>Fax:  +44 (0)1273 671320
>Email: richardc at cogs.susx.ac.uk
>
>Website: www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/richardc/index.html
>