I’m fascinated by linguistics. To the point where I have, for more than a decade, subscribed to John McWharter’s podcast Lexicon Valley. I no longer think I have it in me to learn a second language, but I can learn more about the one I speak. Especially its origins.

I’ve learned about some things. Like, the odd pronunciation of certain words by certain people is called a glottal stop. Years ago my neice would talk about her college days in the city of Houghton, but would pronounce the word as though the “t” was silent.

Language is a living thing, and I in no way judge the language changes that I hear around me. My latest fascination is with something I’ve come to learn is called “s-retraction,” or “s-cluster retraction.” It’s when an “s” sound before a “t” is turned into “sh.” As in: shtriving to succeed.

My research tells me there may be a regional aspect. It can be found, “Particularly in the Northeast and among some speakers in the Midwest.”

In some ways, these dialects spread most readily among common social groups. If they are embraced by enough in a population, it becomes the norm. For the timebeing, this is still the way the word strive is pronounced, according to an online dictionary:

This could change in a generation or two. I’m entertained by the thought of an English language where street is pronounced “shtreet” and strength is pronounced “shtrength.”