Date: Sun, 2 Jan 1994 08:00:53 -0600

From: Natalie Maynor maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]RA.MSSTATE.EDU

Subject: Re: Regional variation in BE



Another items was

evidence that older speakers in Texas had the /IN/:/EN/ distinction, but that

it had been lost among younger speakers. This evidence considerably confounds

the view that the lack of the distinction is an original diagnostic of BE.



Research that Guy Bailey and I did in Texas and Mississippi in the early

'80s (some of it from tapes made earlier than that) found more such evidence.

We found the /In/:/En/ distinction present among older speakers regardless

of race and absent among younger speakers regardless of race.

--Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)

(behind in mail)