His hawk, however, was ‘hock’. Does this suggest an origin on the east coast perhaps?
Hi, Sweet Thing--no. Some East Coast-ers get weird with their r's, as in hahbah for harbor and Porscher for Porsche. But we normal US'n's and even those ones pretty much say hawk for hawk. Though I'm not saying that nobody says hock for hawk, hock is a different word and I would hope people would make sure they distinguish the sounds of the two (yes, I am an optimist). The vowel sound of hawk is the same as in jaw, law, paw, etc. And although I believe ought really ought to have a slightly different vowel sound, around these parts it's the same: hawk, ought.