Re: USAGE: Thorn vs Eth

On Sat, 2002-07-13 at 13:42, Nihil Sum wrote:
> 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.
I never meant it was wrong, just that you suggested (or I inferred from
what you typed) it ought to have two /t/s in it and a pronunciation
without was wrong.

> 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.
Curious: Do you ever hear thirt-ty, fourt-ty, eight-ty etc?

Tristan.