Here I am again with another "word" question. I worked with African-Americans for many years and am familiar

with the dialect used by many. This is in no way is meant to suggest that ALL African-Americans speak in such a dialect. Here is the question. I notice that many of them put an "f" on the end of some words ending in th --- like North. It becomes "Norf." or "Souf." But on the word month, the "f" is not put at the end of the word as in North, but the "h" sound is completely left off, and it comes out as "mont." Everything has a reason, usually based in history. From a stand point of history, why did this develop? Do all people in some sections of the "South" pronounce words like that? Is it a carry over from the English spoken in England in the 1600, and 1700's? I know that some English language customs of that era still can be heard in the mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, etc. I wonder if the African-Americans I have heard talk are actually using words and expressions learned during the early days of slavery. Please do not give a racist answer to my question.