Re: Californian vowels [was Re: Liking German]
| From: | Roger Mills <romilly@...> |
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| Date: | Saturday, September 29, 2001, 3:44 |
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David Peterson wrote:
> Ha, ha, ha! Yes, many a California probably doubt this, as well. I
>didn't realize that [mELk] was Southern Californian; I assumed everyone
>everywhere did it naturally, if they did it.
(snips)
So there's "milk", "pillow" and "marshmallow" (one I just
>remembered), but those seem to be the only three...
Never heard [mElk] or [pEllow] in all my born days!! [marSmElow] is pretty
standard mid-western. Maybe effete Easterners say [...m&low]...... (There
is a plant sp. called _mallow_ [m&low], but I doubt it's in common usage.)
This [mElk] phenomenon seems relatable to [pIn], [mIn] for both "pin, pen"
and "men", which I seem to recall is considered a Southernism. Yet my
father (1904-73) said these, and he was born and bred in South Dakota; don't
know where he picked it up, as none of his contemporaries, and none of mine,
had it.
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