Date: Fri, 13 Oct 1995 13:47:19 -0400

From: Katherine Devore kdevore[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BIH.HARVARD.EDU

Subject: Re: Ornery Kathleen



Re the epenthetic schwas, I think it all started with my personal pet

peeve, "didunt" and "couldunt" and "wouldunt". It has spread!!!!



On Thu, 12 Oct 1995, Dan Alford wrote:



My eight-year-old girl pronounces her friend Ashley's name as ASH-uh-lee.

What's happening with these epenthetic schwas?



On Wed, 11 Oct 1995, Rima & Kim McKinzey wrote:



All my life I've noticed that some people have a tendency

to pronounce my name with three syllables.

"KATH' uh LEEN''" or somethin'.



Presumably the same folks who add the "uh" in the middle of Kathleen (a 2

syllable word as far as I can tell) are the same folks who say athuhlete

(and drive me crazy).



Ornery is different - losing a syllable, not adding a superfluous one.

BTW, I say it with both the first r and 3 syllables and grew up in NY. Of

course, it's not really a word I use a whole hell of a lot in any case.



Rima