> 'im, etc.

Having grown up in the Great Plains (York Nebraska) and a mother from N'Jersey, I find that in casual speech, I make all of those contractions, 'cept I say "'im" rather than "'eem". N'fak(t), aih don' think aih pernounce mor'n tu thirds uh m'letters. Bothers me, but uh jus' don' have thuh patience t'try 'n' men' m'ways. Guess I'll have to settle for percise writin'.

On the other hand, sometimes the selective contractions actually add meaning. While it may be difficult to answer the question "How long is 'tu tu tu tu tu tu?', it's not near so difficult if the critical phrase is stated casually: "tu t'tu, t'tu-tu."

If you're still having trouble parsing the phrase, it contradicts my assertion and I'll spell it out for you: "two to two, to two-two."

Lance ==)----------------