 |
 |
It is often remarked that Ipswich once had a w-less pronunciation parallel to Norwich, Harwich, etc. This is confirmed by "Yow can easy walk t'Ipsidge" in The Suffolk dialect of the 20th century (A O D Cloxton, Ipswich, 2nd ed. 1960), page 10. When, and why, did it revert to a spelling pronunciation? Also, Suffolk villages such as Martlesham and Bucklesham now have an unetymological pronunciation with internal postalveolar fricative -sh- rather than Martles-ham etc. Why is this, when, e.g. Eltham in London remains Elt-ham? Keith