 |
 |
[This message seemed to vanish into the aether - no doubt it will turn up eventually - so I am sending it again] R.A. Coates wrote: > That doesn't explain the alveolar z in Bosham and the non-alveolar S > "esh" in Cosham, the latter being a spelling-pronunciation. (Correct me if > I'm wrong. I thought the current local pronunciation was "cosh" not > "coss", whatever Forster says. If I'm wrong, you're right.) > Most people say "cosh", but a substantial number of older/longstanding/middle-class inhabitants say "coss" - and regard it as the "correct" pronunciation. [It is perhaps literally a shibboleth!] It is unclear (to me, at least!) whether the "coss" pronuciation is a genuine survival or a (19th century?) affectation based on the etymology. John Briggs