Re: Subtitutes for English /T/ and /D/

On Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:25:14 GMT, Richard Wordingham
<jrw0602@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<news:KxLoi.2223$nm3.507@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> in sci.lang:

[...]

The substitutions of [f] for [T] and [v] for non-initial
[D] are frequent in all of England except the far north.
For example, Welsh _Caerdydd_ has been borrowed as
English _Cardiff_.

That would be a substitution of [f] for [D], not [T]. But
it's not clear what happened here, because the etymology of
the second element is uncertain. The name occurs as
<Kairdiff> as early as 1106; other early forms include
<Kardi> 1126, <Cairti> a.1150, <Kardid> a.1150, <Cardif>
1158-9, and <K(a)erdif> a.1196. Unfortunately, I know the
provenance of only two of these: <Cardif> is from the Pipe
Rolls, and <K(a)erdif> is from Giraldus Cambrensis (whom one
might expect to know the Welsh name).

I've seen two etymologies offered. One derives the second
element from the Latin personal name <Didius>; if it's
correct, then the <f> forms show early substitution of [f]
for [D], apparently in both Welsh and English. The other
derives it from the name of the river Taff on which the
place lies, via a genitive <Tyf>, lenited to <Dyf>; in this
case the substitution is of [D] for [v]. (Presumably this
is oversimplified and ought to be talking about the reflex
of a British genitive.) Either is consistent with the forms
<Kardi> and <Cairti>, as there was a tendency to drop final
[D] and [v].

[...]

There seem to be quite a few Americans who are convinced
that 'half' is [hA:lf].

Really? I've never heard it. By far the most common U.S.
pronunciation, of course, is [h&f].

[...]

Brian
.

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