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Originally Posted by JennyHallu
I assign not understanding a bit of the Verner's Law link LMP provided. And I still don't think it explains "warsh" and "holler", etc.
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I shall explain in the vernacular. I call it "lazy tongue". The mouth always (unless you're German
) finds the easiest way to say something. That way varies depending upon all kinds of factors.
Germans are by and large a rather exacting group of people. Lazy tongue appears to have worked in the opposite direction, and the entire language seems to have been afflicted (hee hee) with a case of over-working the tongue.
French, in contrast, is Latin overly affected by wine. (grin)
Brits as English speakers say most everything toward the front of their mouths, and they open their mouths tall. What I find also very fascinating is that Brits hang their jaws. By contrast, U.S. English speakers tend to clench. Clenching tends to force words further back in the mouth. It also forces vowel sounds to be expressed wide compared to tall.
I'm hard of hearing, so I've spent a lot of years watching people's mouths (reading lips). It's fascinating, and it was one of the main 'sports' I involved myself in when I visited England last September. English women (you may laugh if you like, but take a look next time) apparently develop the muscles between their lower lips and the bottom of their chin to an extent unheard of anywhere else in the speaking world. It just looks packed with thick tissue down there. Compare Keira Knightly to Lindsay Lohan sometime. I think they're about the same age. Then compare Emma Thompson to Laura Linney. Maybe you'll see what I mean.
Okay, that was a weird aside. Anyway, "lazy tongue" is largely responsible for consonants slipping from one place in the mouth to another. Thus, 'b' begins to slip to 'v', 'th' to 't', 't' do 'd', and so on. Those last two are very very prominent on the U.S. east coast: "Hey, lookit dat!" Or "Hey Lookidat!"
Link examples below for the "developed chin" weird aside:
Keira
Lindsay
Emma (who proves out that the older the female Brit, the more advanced the development)
Laura
Further examples:
Margaret ... especially the 20 June 1983 "Time" cover.
Laura B.
Well? Can you see the differences?