LL-L "Phonology" 2003.09.03 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 03.SEP.2003 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Críostóir Ó Ciardha <paada_please at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2003.09.03 (01) [E]

A chairde

Jannie wrote:
"Maybe the British will know more about specific areas
where they drop the initial 'h'. From memory, I think
it may be more the North-West of the country, but I
may be wrong."

Dropping <h-> tends to be a working class feature. In
imported words like hotel the dictionary pronunciation
would be ['ho:tel] (despite French ['Otel] but most
working class people - espcially in the north - have
interpreted this according to their own phonetic norms
as ['o:tel]. Likewise, 'a hotel' but in the north, 'an
otel'.

Interestingly, the pretensions of 'proper English' ran
have run aground in combinations like 'a historian',
where the dictionaries recommend the pronunciation 'an
istorian' but this has been hyper-corrected by most RP
speakers to 'a historian' because 'an istorian' is
considered socially inferior - vulgar.

Criostóir.

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From: Dan Ryan-Prohaska <daniel at ryan-prohaska.com>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2003.09.02 (01) [E]

Sandy again:

> In some dialects of Scots a "y" sound /j/ is added before an initial
vowel, eg "aits" (oats)
> -> /jIts/, "earth" -> /jIrT/, "ane" (one) -> /jIn/, "erb" (herb) ->
/jIrb/. Some of these usages
> are more widespread than others.

<Reinhard/Ron
<I wonder if this is a case of "breaking," as in Frisian (e.g. _ean_ >
<_ian_,
<_ien_, _jan_, etc.).  Note "earth" < OE _eorðe_.  Might Scots _aits_ and
<_ane_ be derived from an Old English dialect that had something like
<*_eātes_ instead of _ātes_, and *_eāne_ instead of _āne_?  What about
<French
<_herbe_ > _herb_.  Reanalysis as */earb/?  My point is that there must be
<some reason why only some words have this [j-].  Note Westerlauwer Frisian
<_ien_ 'one'.

I was aware of this breaking process in some Scots dialects, though I don't
know which ones exactly. Maybe one of our Scots experts can shed some light
on that.

I was under the impression that all Old English and Old Northhumbrian/Scots
dialects lost the various breaking precesses in Middle English and Middle
Scots. Though certain phonological developments point towards the breaking
having been present in the language during an earlier period.

I believe the afore mentioned Scots breaking to be later. Somehow the
Ingvaeonic and Scandinavian varieties of Germanic seem prone to undergo
breaking processes at various times in their history. Similar fractures can
be seen in West and North-West Midland English dialects (/wOm/ "home", /jEd/
"head", /j3:r/ "ear" and "hear"), hence the "standard" pronunciation of
"one". All varieties of Frisian show breaking of some kind, some old some
new, as the idiosycratic morphophonemically determined breaking in West
Frisian.

Dan

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