Date:    Wed, 13 May 1998 17:27:10 -0500
<br>From:    "Donald M. Lance" <engdl[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]SHOWME.MISSOURI.EDU>
<br>Subject: Re: Beijing /j/
<br>
<br>Fom Larry Horn....
<br>
<br>> This is very much
<br>>along the lines of what I think is going on with the ch-->sh in unstressed
<br>>syllables "rule".  (Besides those Chicago chiropodists with their cheroots,
<br>>there's also chinooks and chicanery, both of which typically are sh- rather
<br>>than ch- initial, despite their spelling; at least the former is an
<br>>unlikely candidate for Frenchification.)
<br>
<br>When Lewis & Clark got to the mouth of a pair of river that merge several
<br>miles before flowing into the Missouri, Clark referred to them as "the two
<br>rivers called by the French the two Charatons," which Clark claimed was a
<br>"corruption" of another word.  However, the names on other maps have
<br>"charlaton" and similar forms.  The 1893 Coues edition of L&C has a long,
<br>long footnote on this name.
<br>
<br>The larger of the two is now known as the Chariton River, as is the county,
<br>and the smaller one to the west is called the Mussel Fork.  Old-timers say
<br>this name with ch-, but it's popular nowadays to say it with sh-. Because
<br>of vowel mergers, voiced t's, etc. occasionally one sees Sheridan in local
<br>newspaper published by the J-School -- in articles written and proofed by
<br>kids who aren't from central Missouri.  The weather guys on local tv
<br>stations also say sh-.
<br>
<br>DMLance
<br>