| I have heard 'meader.' I've also heard heighth for height, Warshington for the nations capital, droughth for drought (legit old time pronunciation), and i for e substitutions all over the place (pin for pen for example) I've heard 'shots' for 'shorts' in New England. In upstate NY they pronounce elementary (like school) with a long a, and mauve as mawv. If a regionalism isn't spelled out, as an approximation -- like keer or womern -- what you'll wind up with on stage is a bland standard English, which is not the author's intent. The sheet music for 'It's Delovely' used to specify pronouncing 'deluxe' as 'deloox' because that's what Porter intended. It may look or sound odd, I agree with you on that, but that doesn't negate the purpose of making the character(s) sound different or quaint rather than your neighbor next door. (another one for you -- 'loverly' in MFL, I doubt that ever came out of a Cockney's lips) |
