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ArchivesRe: Sadie & Josephine?
in reply to a message by LMS
I know that many people think the sound changes that occur in pet forms are related to which sounds small children have the most difficulty learning to pronounce properly when they are first learning the speak.
"R" is one of the harder sounds for children to learn, and "d" is a common substitute for it. Back in medieval times Dick, Dob, and Dodge were among the common pet forms for Richard, Robert, and Roger. So it's no surprise that the "r" in Sarah would change to "d".
As for the vowel in the first syllable -- I think that in some accents of English "Sarah" does sound like "Say-ruh" even today.
I have never heard of Posie being a general pet form for Josephine before. Have you actually known more than one woman who used this? In individual families all sorts of unique things could happen. :) It does seem to be just a rhyming form based on Josie, though.
P.S. I was very surprised after I wrote the above to find that the explanation for Posy on this site is "diminutive of Josephine." I would still think that a rhyming form based on Josie is the best explanation.
"R" is one of the harder sounds for children to learn, and "d" is a common substitute for it. Back in medieval times Dick, Dob, and Dodge were among the common pet forms for Richard, Robert, and Roger. So it's no surprise that the "r" in Sarah would change to "d".
As for the vowel in the first syllable -- I think that in some accents of English "Sarah" does sound like "Say-ruh" even today.
I have never heard of Posie being a general pet form for Josephine before. Have you actually known more than one woman who used this? In individual families all sorts of unique things could happen. :) It does seem to be just a rhyming form based on Josie, though.
P.S. I was very surprised after I wrote the above to find that the explanation for Posy on this site is "diminutive of Josephine." I would still think that a rhyming form based on Josie is the best explanation.
This message was edited 2/10/2014, 6:23 AM
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