Re: CHAT: Newfs (was: Getting into the intro game)

--- In conlang@y..., John Cowan <jcowan@R...> wrote:
> Stephen DeGrace scripsit:
>
> > It's just "boy", sound shifted to something like
> > /baj/.
>
> I suspect this is not a sound change, but a lack of
sound change.
> /aI/ is the historic pronunciation of "oi, oy" in
English until
> the 19th century or so: even in Mark Twain we find
spellings like
> "jine" and "bile" for "join" and "boil", showing
that /OI/ or the
> like had become standard, but /aI/ remained in
certain dialects.
> NF was settled early and is an island, making it
likely that the
> 18th-century (and earlier) form was preserved there.
Actually, that's probably so, NF is famous for
archaicisms. My grandfather, for example, says /hus/
for "house" and /se:/ for "sea" :). Approximately.
Anyway, stuff varies quite a lot across the island,
but it's all interesting to listen to.

Stephen

______________________________________________________________________
Find, Connect, Date! http://personals.yahoo.ca

Reply