Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 15:22:23 -0400

From: "Dale F.Coye" CoyeCFAT[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM

Subject: Re: intrusive or unintrusive /l/



In a message dated 96-05-11 20:54:31 EDT, you write:



Last night, Jerry and Kramer think that the man they see at the club

is Salman Rushdie. Later, Kramer tells Jerry it is Rushdie. He's sure

because when he asked the man his name, the man said he was "Sal Bass",

n

and that he's a writer. Kramer says Rushdie's substituting Íbaesß for

Ísaem[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nß ([AT SYMBOL GOES HERE] = schwa), which is clever because he's kept it as a fish.



I saw it too, and Jerry was quick to point out to Kramer that his theory was

stupid because its pronounced SAM not SAL, but I was reminded that I knew

this guy from NYC who did say SAL m[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]n, and how surprised I was by that. Was

this an idiosyncracy or is it more widespread?



Dale Coye

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Princeton