Consonants JU

In words with historical [iu~ju] after coronal stops, as in tune, duke, and news, [j] has persisted in the South longer than in any other part of the United States (though it still appears elsewhere as an affectation). Kurath and McDavid (1961), whose sample consisted almost entirely of speakers born in the 19^th century, showed [ju] and its variants ([iu], ) as nearly universal in the Southern states. Since World War II, however, a steady movement toward loss of [j] in the South has occurred. The loss has been slower in common words than in infrequent words. Findings differ on whether males or females lead in this change.