Linguistics

Let me clear up a few things definitively.

If a pronunciation is listed in one's dictionary of record, and is listed without saying that it's a regional variant, it's not dialectal, it's not dispreferred, and it can be used freely in one's pursuit without any need for comment.

"Would give" is not the future tense. The subjunctive does not need preserving. "If I was king..." has been common, perhaps even standard, for hundreds of years. "If I were the teacher" and "If I be the teacher" are not synonymous.

Now. If people would kindly stop saying linguistically idiotic things on mailing lists I read, I might be able to get some [censored] work done.