Re: USAGE: pronouncing "l", "needs washed"

On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, John Cowan wrote:

> Ed Heil wrote:
>
> > But the thing I don't get is that a few years ago, I first heard the
> > construction, "that shirt needs washed" from my wife.  (I would say,
> > "that shirt needs to be washed," or "that shirt needs washing."  To
> > me, "washed" is not a nominal, and therefore cannot be used as the
> > direct object of "needs," whereas "to be washed" and "washing" are
> > both nominals.)
>
> This is characteristic of Western Pennsylvania, and may have spread, perhaps
> under Mennonite influence, to the Midwest.
It's probably from Dutch or Low German if it occurs in Pennsylvania:
"dat overhemd moet gewassen" (and not "... gewassen worden" which is
correct but a bit over-emphatic for everyday use) is the usual way to
say it in Dutch.

Another data point from a non-native speaker who spent 18 months in
Wiltshire, England: I say [wO:k] and [wOk] for "walk" and "wok"
respectively.

   Irina

--
            Varsinen an laynynay, saraz no arlet rastynay.
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        http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt/irina/index.html (home)