Why do so many people in the midwest USA pronounce "both" as "BOLTH?"
There must be some sort of consonant substitution or historical reason why this is so common.
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ANSWERS: 3
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Suggested by linguists on the web that it's because the "o" in both is a diphthong ("ou") and the end part of it requires the tongue to be in the same position as a "dark L". So the "L" substitutes for part of the diphthong.
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I've never heard that, despite living in the Mid-west for about 15 years of my 61-year life. But...I lived in Ohio. Maybe it's some other part of the Mid-west?
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bostjan the adequate 🥉 Ohio has three distinct dialects, so I suppose it depends.
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Because so many people in the midwest USA pronounce "both" as "BOLTH". You learn language from those around you that speak it. If everybody else says it that way why would you even think to pronounce it differently? My ex noticed that they often put "yet" on the end of sentences. We moved from midwest to south. My mom said northern sayings and words with a southern accent after a while.
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