Nice category. These contractions also take place across languages. For example, the somewhat old and now infrequently employed American slang word "hoosegow", used particlarly in western states bordering Mexico, is a slang term for "jail," derived from the Spanish "juzgado."

I'm pretty sure if you check that "druthers" was a term coined by Walt Kelly in his famed Pogo comic strip. It is used exclusively in the phrase "If I had my druthers" throughout the history of the strip.

Here's what I found: "This is an American phrase and not used widely elsewhere. People elsewhere in the world might want to know what druthers are, as the phrase conveys otherwise. Druthers is a shortening of 'would rathers'. The phrase originated in the late 19th century and is first cited in the January 1870 edition of Overland monthly and Out West magazine, in a story called Centrepole Bill, by George F. Emery:

"If I was a youngster, I 'drather set up in any perfession but a circus-driver, but a man can't always have his 'drathers."

Druthers, as opposed to its earlier variant drathers, is traced back to 1876 in Dialect Notes:

"Bein's I caint have my druthers an' set still, I cal'late I'd better pearten up an' go 'long."

So, not coined by Walt Kelly, according to that source (phrases.org). :0)

There's no doubt it's a distortion of "I'd rather," but is it possible it has more than one source origin? It wouldn't be too hard to imagine that more than one person could independently come up with it.

it'd rather be easier to believe that Al Capp and/or Walt Kelly "borrowed" it from earlier sources!

-ron occam

Howdy Strangers, haul up an set a spell.
(to go overboard on the western theme )
edited cos my smily wouldn't

it'd rather be easier to believe that Al Capp and/or Walt Kelly "borrowed" it from earlier sources!

-ron occam
Now, now--don't go bein' raw knock'em...

...so no one is going to comment on the original post which calls making one Spanish word into one English word a contraction? Oh, wait, I think I just did...

It's simultaneously a contraction and a borrowing. Hoosegow, whilst it has more letters than juzgado, has one fewer syllables and is phonemically a contraction of sorts.

Actually, Myridon, I read it as his calling "druthers" a contraction (which it is) and pointing out that this also occurs in other languages, such as Spanish, which it does. The word "juzgado" (literally "judged" = "court"; "jail" is "carcel") is pronounced "hoos-gah-tho". It is very common in all places Spanish is spoken for the "th" sound (letter D) to be dropped, forming a diphthong "ao" or "ow". "Hoosegow" is exactly the phonemic equivalent of "juzga'o", with the exception of the placement of stress on the first syllable rather than on the second (or diphthong).



I'm not sure, Pook, that this is truly borrowing. The word doesn't mean the same thing in both languages. I think of borrowing as words such as tortilla, tacos, burritos etc. that "generally" (this is commentary on Mexican cuisine made in America - bleh!) refer to the same foods (as an example) in both languages. :0)

You're right, Myr. Thank you.
"hoosegow", used particlarly in western states bordering Mexico, is a slang term for "jail," derived from the Spanish "juzgado."
Thanks, Hugo, and welcome to you.

That would be a hard 'th' (dh) wouldn't it? As in 'the' not as in 'thing.'

It is borrowing, whether or not it means the same thing. And in this case it does mean pretty much the same thing anyway.

English borrows any word from any language that it thinks it can use in any way it sees fit. That's the genius of the language! We English speakers never let meaning get in the way of stealing a nice word. And even when it does mean exactly the same thing at the time it is borrowed, give it a generation or two and it will go the same way as other English words - its meaning will drift and/or expand with usage. Other Spanish loan words that have come to be used in ways other than their original meaning or context would include gusto, taco, gringo, and probably most other words ending in 'o'

Yes, Pook, the hard one, LOL! I'm too lazy even to look up the correct name, although I knew it once for a class in grad school...

Many other cultures liberally borrow from other languages, much of it from English as it is so widespread and many technology terms originated with English speakers. But lets be less sexist and say most other words ending in "a" also... he he he :0)

to look up the correct name

There are two kinds of alveolar fricatives in English: voiceless /þ/ as in thin and voiced /ð/ as in that. The name of the first character is thorn and that of the second one is edh. Voicing is a rather common distinctive feature in many languages. The stops /p/, /t/, and /k/ are voiceless, and /b/, /d/, and /g/ are their voiced counterparts. Usual the term hard is used to distinguish fricatives or affricates from stops: e.g., the g in gel from that in goat.

Many languages borrow words with no intention of paying back the loan. It's one of the ways that languages get new vocabulary.

Yup, that looks familiar, zmjezhd! I say "familiar" because the course I took was taught in Spanish, so the nomenclature was such as "alveolar fricativo", "sordo", "sonoro" etc. It's been many moons since then, so I'd have to look it up, and I have too much to do these days! Thanks for the memories... ;0)

English-speaking South Africans frequently greet each other with "Howzit?"
Certain white New Orleanians (mainly from Lower 9th Ward) are referred to as Yats, after the greeting "Where y'at?"

Hi, pedantman?

"Howzit" looks like the English form of the Dutch (- Afrikaans) greeting : " Hoe is et?"

Wouldn't be surprised by the "Hoe is et?" derivation.
My South-African wife is not currently at home to verify, and you don't want to get her started talking about Afrikaans, sometimes described as "not a language, but a throat disease" (in stark contrast to the beautiful Dutch pronunciations):)

Yes, Dutch would sound perfectly allright if only it would sound more like Brazilian Portuguese.

In cricket, a shout of "'owzat?" (how's that?) is an appeal to the umpire to give the batsman out. In Australian idiom, a greeting often heard is "'owzit garn?" (how's it going?) or even "airzit garn."

Those Rs aren't really pronounced, are they.

Yes, they aren't pronounced. It's a non-rhotic dialect.

If they aren't pronounced, why did you put them there? Why not "aizit gan" if that's how it's pronounced? And, why "airzit garn" and not "rarirarirt rgrarn"? (^_^)

Sincererly,
Laura Norder

If they aren't pronounced, why did you put them there?

Because non-rhotic varieties of English use them to distinguish /æ/ from /ɑ/ (i.e., a from ar). Cf. the strange, to USan eyes, reference in the first chapter of Winnie the Pooh contrasting ther Pooh with the Pooh (i.e., /ðə/ and /ðiː/). (It's one of the reasons to use IPA rather than ad hoc pseudo-phonemic spellings.)

yes, what he said. Although in Winnie the Pooh, the non-rhotic 'r' was not to distinguish 'ther' from 'the' but to emphasise the definite article. The contrast is between Pooh without the article and 'THE Pooh.' In some mystical, never explained way, somehow Winnie THE Pooh is a boy's name, even though Winnie is a girl's name.

Besides, 'aizit' would be pronounced like eye-zit, not the same sound at all. The diphthong 'ai' by itself normally communicates the sound found in 'aisle' and is not the same sound as the ai in air, hair, chair, fair, etc (i.e. æ), whether or not you pronounce the 'r.'

"And, why "airzit garn" and not "rarirarirt rgrarn"?" Because that's not where you put intrusive/non-rhotic 'r's - see the thread called 'pigeon towed' pigeon towed for previous discussion about non-rhotic spelling and pronunciation.

What Nuncle said.

The Wikipedia article on Australian English phonology (link) may be apropos.

How would you spell it phonetically without using an r then? I'm thinking that you really do say an r (or at least an r-colored vowel) for some reason you'd like to deny that.
Your argument is that aizit would be eye-zit, but why airzit instead of ay-zit or A-zit if there's not a hint of arrrrrrrr sneaking in there?

How would you spell it phonetically without using an r then?

I would have to hear the speaker say the two phrases, before attempting to transcribe them accurately. I was just saying that some non-rhotic varieties of English use an r in phonic spellings to indicate difference in vocalic quality, and not that there is anythingr-colored about the vowel. On the other hand, some non-rhotic varieties of English exhibit a phenomenon called intrusive-r, where an r intrudes in a word, where it is not phonologically or etymologically motivated: e.g., pronouncing barn /bɑːn/, but idea /ʔəjdiːɹ/ in some varieties of NE US English.

idea /ʔəjdiːɹ/ And 'round these parts, I occasionally hear an l added on to the end of idea, as in, "I don't think much of that ideal".

"I don't think much of that ideal"

But is that just faulty lexical selection or a phonological feature of the local variety of English?

They mean the word idea; they just add the l onto it. Locals.
"You have no ideal what I've been through..." I'm glad it's not real prevalent.

Thanks for saying what I couldn't be bothered to retrieve from the other thread and quote again. I believe someone (probably you) mentioned Rudyard Kipling's transliterations of some Hindi or Urdu words having non-rhotic spellings that mislead rhotic speakers. In these kinds of words 'ar' for example indicates a long 'a' sound not a voiced 'r' and would be spelt 'ah' or similar had he been an American.

I just realised actually that the 'i' in my 'howzit garn' or 'airzit garn' is actually more properly a schwa. But there is definitely no 'r' sound.

Nice link, thanks.

A good example of a non-rhotic R being stuck in the standard transliteration of a foreign word is the Korean family name normally spelled Park in English. The hangul is 팍, which I would transliterate as Pahk. It is customarirly pronounced by rhotic Americans as it is spelled, Park.

Yes I remember you mentioning that somewhere else. It had never occurred to me this was a problem since being a non-rhotician (non-rhote?) I had never thought of pronouncing it as anything but Pahk.

Well, at least they'll get it right in Boston... ;0)

at least they'll get it right in Boston :-) As in, pahk the cah in Bahston?

You gaht it! I was gonna write "Bahstan", but it looked too much like a city in the Middle East, or something... :0)

Or should that be 'gahd it'? Nice to know somewhere in the US they speak proper English!

And the first O in Boston isn't pronounced the same as the AR in Park and Car.

the first O in Boston isn't pronounced the same as the AR in Park and Car

Wikipedia has an article on the Boston accent (link). Also, there are two or more accents. I am thinking of the Boston Brahmin sociolectal accent (link, especially the audio links at the end of the article).

There's about five or six Boston accents, maybe more if you consider some of the outlying area.

I'm beginning to think you actually WROTE these articles! Is there anything you don't know?

to think you actually WROTE these articles

No, but the author(s) and I have been reading the same sorts of articles and books.

's about five or six Boston accents

Language, like life, is always a bit more complicated that folks think it is.

the first O in Boston isn't pronounced the same as the AR in Park and Car. I thought prolly not, but I'm not familiar enough with it to know how to make the distinction, written or orally.