Word: cot-tuh
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Thus Carter routinely modulates his pitch, employing a delicate rising and falling of his voice that results in an almost singsong effect. Another Gulf coastal plain element: he drops what linguists call postvocalic rs in such words as go-phuh (gopher) and Cot-tuh. According to Pederson, however, the younger generation of Gulf coastal plains people, who have been exposed to accentless network television and modern speech courses, pronounce it "Car-tuh...
...course, Carter (Cot-tuh? Car-tuh?) simply does not use the "good ole boy" phraseology; his speech is far too aristocratic for that. Even in casual conversation, he is not likely to fall into what linguists call the double modal-"might could" or "might ought." Nor can he be expected to employ another familiar Deep South form, the perfective done, as in "he done did it." Between now and November, moreover, his audiences are not apt to hear him describe his opponent, as some Plains folk might, as "a sorry piece of plunder" or threaten to "knock the bark...