Date: Fri, 10 Mar 1995 01:58:49 CST

From: "Donald M. Lance" ENGDL[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MIZZOU1.BITNET

Subject: Re: suite /sut/



Bedroom suite was a /sut/ in our family language. I vaguely recall some

discussion of the two pronunciations when we acquired a hand-me-down

bedroom suite from some neighbors who could afford new furniture but

we couldn't. My own interpretation was that /swit/ referred to a group

of rooms, not to a group of items of furniture. I was in high school at

the time (1940s). I think it was our neighbors (who had more money)

who said /swit/, so I assumed that there was a socio-economic factor

involved, but that the high-falutin pronunciation was a hypercorrection

because these particular family friends didn't have a whole lot more than

we did. This was in Texas (families with South Midland backgrounds that

went through southern Arkansas to Texas, i.e., both our family and

our friends). The female in this family also said 'modren' (this latter

datum provided for those of you on ads-l who followed that train of

speculation some time ago on the list). DMLance