Date:  Tue, 22 Feb 1994 09:07:34 GMT

From:  "Warren A. Brewer" <NCUT054[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]TWNMOE10.BITNET>

Subject: [u]/[ju]/[au] in Houston



Question is, is Houston a cpd. with OE. [hu:s]? If so, the [hjus-]/

[jus-] forms must have been analogized.



Thus far, we seem to have [hjus-] as the name of four counties in Alabama,

Minnesota, Tennesee, Texas; a town in Mississippi; a borough in

Pennsylvania; two cities in Texas. Locals in the Texas port city say

[jus-]. A county in Georgia and a street in NYC Greenwich Village

are [haus-]; recomposition, as in housewife < hussy; cf. supercomposition

of house-husband. What about hustings? I had always had a reading

pron. with [hjus-], but the older pron. seems to be with schwa.



OED has Houstonia [hus-] (plant genus), Houston's folds [hus-]/[hjus-]

(anat.). Does this indicate that the older pronunciation was [hus-]?