Shifting usage: "Who quoted this?"

Alice Faber faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU
Fri Mar 28 03:45:39 UTC 2014


Actually, he was quoting a heckler (who said it in Yiddish).

On 3/27/14 11:22 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> Well, he said it first in Yiddish ("A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an armey un a flot"), and then self-quoted in English.  Sort of like a verbal selfie.
>
> LH
>
>
>
> On Mar 27, 2014, at 10:46 PM, Neal Whitman wrote:
>
>> Wasn't familiar with this usage, but just saw this today:
>>
>> As Yiddish linguist Max Weinreich famously quoted, “A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.”
>> http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/03/15/the-long-war-over-ukrainian-language/HXlLbK9wVnhwGShNVPKIUP/story.html?camp=id
>>
>> Neal
>>
>>> On Mar 27, 2014, at 4:18 PM, "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
>>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>> Subject:      Re: Shifting usage: "Who quoted this?"
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Now if they'd said "who quothed this?", all would be
>>> okey-dokey.  [Yes, I know the past tense of "queath" is "quoth", but
>>> as all things tend toward regularity ...]
>>>
>>> At 3/27/2014 03:20 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole wrote:
>>>> A couple years ago I came across websites with questions of the form
>>>> "Who quoted this?" I believe the queries were asking for the name of
>>>> the person who originated a particular quotation.
>>>>
>>>> I apologize if this has already been discussed ad nauseam
>>>>
>>>> Merriam Webster has:
>>>> quote (verb)
>>>> 1. to repeat (a passage, phrase, etc.) from a book, speech, or the
>>>> like, as by way of authority, illustration, etc.
>>>>
>>>> So the meaning of the verb has shifted for some speakers. Here are
>>>> two examples.
>>>>
>>>> https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120426210420AAu5k9Z
>>>>
>>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>>> Do you know who quoted this?
>>>> who quoted:
>>>> "family is not about blood it's about who is willing to hold your hand
>>>> when you need it the most"
>>>> Update 1: other than me obviously Looney, you know what i meant :p
>>>> [End excerpt]
>>>>
>>>> One response:
>>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>>> You just quoted it.
>>>> [End excerpt]
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?32643-Who-quoted-it
>>>>
>>>> 11-29-2011, 07:37 PM #1
>>>> Bruce M (offline Senior Member)
>>>> Join Date  Dec 2008
>>>> Location Chesapeake VA
>>>> Subject: Who quoted it?
>>>>
>>>> [Begin excerpt]
>>>>    Im a big fan of good quotes and I just remembered this stupid game
>>>> we played in school where someone would tell a quote and we had to
>>>> guess who quoted it. I'll start.
>>>>    "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments
>>>> of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge
>>>> and controversy"
>>>>
>>>>    EZ one, I know, but its one of my favorites.
>>>> [End excerpt]
>>>>
>>>> Garson
>>>>
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>>>
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>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
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>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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