Re: Back to the Future (was: I'm back, sort of)

Joe scripsit:

> As well as this, I think /n=/ will become standard English for 'and'.  It's
> not like anyone really says /&nd/ anymore.
Well, it's still the form used for emphasis or contrast.  "Yes, I'll have
coffee [&nd] tea, please."  The stressed and unstressed forms of the
personal pronouns have coexisted for centuries now:  [ju:] vs [j@],
[hi] vs. [i] ~ [I], etc. etc.  "Them" is a special case: its unstressed
form is a direct descendant of OE hem, whereas "them" is a Norse borrowing.

--
LEAR: Dost thou call me fool, boy?      John Cowan
FOOL: All thy other titles              http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
             thou hast given away:      jcowan@reutershealth.com
      That thou wast born with.         http://www.reutershealth.com