Reapt or Reaped

[dimod]

In our rural community the word 'reapt' is often used orally as the past tense of reap, however I don't believe it is real word. The pronounciation for the more correct 'reaped' doesn't seem right either. Any answers would be appreciated.
Di

[Bobinwales]

It looks like dialect to me Di.

There's nothing wrong with dialect just as long as it doesn't actually grate on the ear. Double negatives fall into that category in a place quite near where I live, and there are just so many “I didn’t do nothings” you can take

[Erik_Kowal]

But I really didn't do nothing!

[minjeff]

I agree with Bobinwales and would like to add that it probably stemmed from overgeneralization from such words as leap/leapt, creep/crept, keep/kept, or sweep/swept.

Similarly, I can relate to your situation: in my hometown (Cleveland) we call carbonated beverages "pop" and where I attend school we call it "soda" or "coke-cola." I'm to the point now where neither sounds correct and I struggle to communicate when I would like a carbonated beverage.

[dimod]

Thanks for the answers. I have been helping a friend by proof-reading a family history and could not decide whether to correct or leave it as 'reapt'.
I think I agree with Jeff about the overgeneralization examples.

[dimod]

After a short but intense discussion with my husband, I must now add that he believes it is just our particular brand of Australian accent that makes reaped sound like reapt.
He would also like to suggest to Jeff that in South Australia he would request a 'soft-drink'.

[Wizard of Oz]

.. hi Di .. of the footballing Modras ?? .. anyway I have tried to say reaped with a /d/ on the end and find it impossible .. it always comes out sounding as /t/, ie reapt .. so I am with hubby and agree that it's just the way we Aussies speak .. it would be different if the local dialest was rept as rhyming with kept .. maybe you need to speak with a local speech pathologist to get a lead on it ..

WoZ of Aus 10/11/05

[Shelley]

It's not just the way you Aussies speak: I'd challenge anyone to pronounce "reaped" with a "d" sound on the end of it, without going biblical or shakespearean and pronouncing it with two syllables, thusly -- "ree-ped". We are not talking about reapt rhyming with leapt or kept, are we? It seems perfectly natural (though not correct) that someone would misspell reaped as reapt in keeping with the pronunciation.
As to the "pop" vs. "soda" controversy: Minjeff, I sympathize. When I moved east, I was ridiculed mercilessly for using my midwestern term for carbonated beverage, until I caved and called it soda like everybody else. While traveling in South Dakota this past summer, I bought a can of soda and the clerk referred to my purchase as "pop" -- I tell you it was music to my ears!

[kagriffy]

There's a long-standing joke in these parts that you might be from Springfield (Illinois, that is) if you go to Chicago and no one will give you a "sody"! Growing up in South-Central Illinois, though, we never referred to either "soda/sody" or "pop"; we just used "Coke" as a generic catch-all encompassing all carbonated beverages. (Actually, many people would modify the "Coke" with a "-er-sumpin" at the end, thusly: "You want a Coke-er-sumpin?")

[Shelley]

So, kagriffy, do they say "sassafrass" and "sarsparilla" and jumpin' jehosephat! and stuff like that-there in Springfield, too? "Sody" is very funny -- I never thought people really said it except in cartoons. I will begin saying it immediately. I wonder if it will catch on? . . .

[Erik_Kowal]

Shelley, that's not what I think of as pop music.

[kagriffy]

Springfield has a language all its own in some respects. I've lived in Illinois all my life, but I had to learn a few new terms when I moved here after college. For example, what I always called a "concrete block" (the big blocks made of concrete [hence the name] and used for foundations) is called a "cinderblock" here. And railroad underpasses are known as "viaducts" around here. (That is especially strange because in Decatur--a city about 30 minutes east of here--a "viaduct" is a railroad OVERPASS.) And, in one of our most famous Springfieldisms, you won't find any metal in a local "horseshoe," but you can eat one!!!!

[dimod]

Actually, here in South Aussie, reapt does rhyme with kept and leapt. Sorry. Thanks for all the input. To answer your question, Wiz, yes, but very distantly. Although my son believes the gene shows up everywhere. I am impressed that a New South Welshman is so conversant with aged Aussie Rules footballers.