Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2014 October 4

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October 4

almost

Has anyone else encountered the pronunciation /ˈoʊmoʊst/ (OH-most) for almost? It's my usual pronunciation of the word when I'm not being conscientious of my pronunciation, but I've never seen it in a dictionary, so I'm wondering if this is a widespread nonstandard pronunciation, or something belonging only to my own idiolect. —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 21:02, 4 October 2014 (UTC)

It's certainly an allophonic variation found in the Delaware Valley dialect. I am not sure why this is controversial. The change /l/ > /w/ is very common. μηδείς (talk) 02:09, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm from the UK, and I use it in my speech. I think dropping the 'l' in this word is quite common here. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (Chin Wag) 09:14, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm from the UK and I never darken the "l" to a "w". I would consider it a mis-pronunciation (though I accept that it might be common in some dialects). Dbfirs 09:22, 5 October 2014 (UTC)

It can be heard in Singapore but is not regarded as correct. — SMUconlaw (talk) 09:04, 6 October 2014 (UTC)

The dropping of the l is very common, but the change in the initial vowel from "all" to "oh" is something I've never heard, or even heard of until now. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 19:22, 9 October 2014 (UTC)