Re: USAGE: Thorn vs Eth

I done hear tell from Tristan:

>How do you get that there should be one in 'eighteen'? English doesn't
>do long consonants much these days and the spelling in no way indicates
>the presence of an extra /-t-/. (For the record, I have never said, nor
>do I recall saying, an extra -t- in them.)
You may not say it this way, but damn near everyone I know (since I started
paying attention) says "thirt-teen", "fourt-teen" and "eight-teen". The
dictionary at http://www.m-w.com indicates these are acceptable as alternate
pronunciations.
Many dialects do not do this. I've heard "thir-teen" "four-teen" and
"eigh-teen", even "eigh-deen" etc. These tend to stand out for me when I
hear them on TV etc.

What I meant by that there should be one in "eighteen" is that since "eight"
DOES end in a t, it makes more sense that this t might be retained (in some
dialects!) before "teen" ... unlike "three" or "four".
The extra t in "thirteen" and "fourteen" comes from nowhere -- makes no
sense at all. But since that's what I keep hearing around here, that's what
I'll keep saying.

NS
(types in west coast Canadian dialect)

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