Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site utflis.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsri!utai!utflis!chai From: chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) Newsgroups: net.nlang Subject: Re: Pet Peeves(really: British English) Message-ID: <558@utflis.UUCP> Date: Tue, 12-Nov-85 12:35:15 EST Article-I.D.: utflis.558 Posted: Tue Nov 12 12:35:15 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 13-Nov-85 01:23:44 EST References: <747@cyb-eng.UUCP> <1900005@datacube.UUCP> Reply-To: chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto Lines: 26 Summary: In article <644@spar.UUCP> ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) writes: > Other errors mentioned seem to be due to English's natural process > of weakening unaccented vowels and elision of unpronounceable > clusters of glides [rlwy]: > > library /laybrer1/ => /laybr0r1/ => /laybrr1 = laybr1/ libry? > february /febr0wer1/ => /febr0w0r1/ => /febrwr1,febr1/ febry? It is my understanding that while Americans tend to pronounce each syllable of a word distinctly, British practice is to drop or glide over some syllables. Other examples I can think of are particularly -> particuly awfully -> awfly Also the British practice of adding an 'r' to the end of a word when the word ends in a vowel and the next starts with a vowel, what's it called in linguistics? Examples are law and order -> lawrand order idea of -> idearof (similarly Nyssarof Traken !) -- Henry Chai, just a humble student at the Faculty of Library and Information Science, U of Toronto {watmath,ihnp4,allegra}!utzoo!utflis!chai