[Ads-l] big apple

[Laurence Horn]

> On Feb 7, 2020, at 12:00 PM, Andy Bach <afbach at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> Dormi Mon Enfant,
>  'Ti Marie Do-Do Cherie
>  Si Li Pas Do-Do Cocotte
> Crab la va Mange, Cherie
> 
>> So ‘pinch your toes’ is a bit of a euphemism, eh?
> 
> Dunno - I don't speak Creole ... er, or French (nor does Gtranslate) but
> "the crab'll eat you”?

Yes, in standard French it would be “le crabe va (te) manger”.  Here’s a side by side between the Haitian Creole and standard French; interesting that the direct object (clitic) is not needed in Creole, presumably because the eatee is clear in the context.  And while this does seem rather upsetting for a lullaby, we have our “Down will come baby, cradle and all”, not much more reassuring.  

LH
> 
> On Thu, Feb 6, 2020 at 11:36 AM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
> wrote:
> 
>> So ‘pinch your toes’ is a bit of a euphemism, eh?
>> 
>>> On Feb 6, 2020, at 12:32 PM, Andy Bach <afbach at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Dormi Mon Enfant,
>>> 'Ti Marie Do-Do Cherie
>>> Si Li Pas Do-Do Cocotte
>>> Crab la va Mange, Cherie
>>> 
>>> From "Music Time" with Charity Bailey (pdf of the album and liner notes)
>>> https://folkways-media.si.edu/liner_notes/folkways/FW07307.pdf
>>> 
>>> On Wed, Feb 5, 2020 at 10:19 PM Mark Mandel <markamandel at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Oh my heavens! I had forgotten all about the Creole until you mentioned
>> it,
>>>> and now there're a few ragged fragments in my mind. Maybe some more will
>>>> come back to me.
>>>> 
>>>> ??: Is this one of the songs you meant?:
>>>> 
>>>> *Dormi, mon enfant, *
>>>> *Close your eyes, my sweet babý.*
>>>> * If you do not sleep, my love, *
>>>> * Crab will pinch your toes, babý. *
>>>> * If you do not sleep, my love, *
>>>> * Crab will pinch your toes.*
>>>> 
>>>> Mark
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, Feb 4, 2020, 4:54 PM Margaret Winters <mewinters at wayne.edu>
>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> I found out several years ago when I googled her to find out who she
>> was.
>>>>> I still remember (and sing, though not always safely in tune) the four
>>>>> songs I learned from that one record I mentioned.  It wasn't until I
>>>>> studied French, though, that I understood the creole words - I'd
>>>> basically
>>>>> learned them as a string of sounds.
>>>>> 
>>>>> ----------------------------
>>>>> MARGARET E WINTERS
>>>>> Former Provost
>>>>> Professor Emerita - French and Linguistics
>>>>> Wayne State University
>>>>> Detroit, MI  48202
>>>>> 
>>>>> mewinters at wayne.edu
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> ________________________________
>>>>> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
>>>> Mark
>>>>> Mandel <markamandel at GMAIL.COM>
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 4, 2020 4:47 PM
>>>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>> Subject: Re: big apple
>>>>> 
>>>>> OMG! When I was a kid in the fifties, my family played a lot of folk
>>>> music
>>>>> (on records), probably instilling in me the love of and fascination
>> with
>>>>> singing, especially folk songs, that I retained and reveled in to this
>>>> day.
>>>>> Among the singers were the Weavers, Richard Dyer-Bennet, Burl Ives,
>>>>> and *Charity
>>>>> Bailey*. And until five minutes ago I never knew she was Black. Thank
>>>> you.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Mark Mandel
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Tue, Feb 4, 2020, 8:20 AM Margaret Winters <mewinters at wayne.edu>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Some time in the 50s there was a New York City local children's
>> program
>>>>> on
>>>>>> TV with Charity Bailey, a black singer and educator.  I think I still
>>>>> have
>>>>>> the 78rpm record of her singing 4 songs, three in English and one in
>>>>> French
>>>>>> creole.  See
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>> https://folkways.si.edu/charity-bailey/music-time-with/african-american-music-childrens/album/smithsonian
>>>>>> [https://folkways-media.si.edu/images/album_covers/SF1400/FW07307.jpg
>>>> ]<
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>> https://folkways.si.edu/charity-bailey/music-time-with/african-american-music-childrens/album/smithsonian
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Music Time with Charity Bailey | Smithsonian Folkways Recordings<
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>> https://folkways.si.edu/charity-bailey/music-time-with/african-american-music-childrens/album/smithsonian
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Singer and educator Charity Bailey, who was director of music at the
>>>>>> progressive Little Red School House in New York City, offers a
>>>> collection
>>>>>> of songs aimed at a very young audience. Children from Sarah Lawrence
>>>>>> Nursery School in New York City participated in the recordings. The
>>>>>> traditional song “...
>>>>>> folkways.si.edu
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ----------------------------
>>>>>> MARGARET E WINTERS
>>>>>> Former Provost
>>>>>> Professor Emerita - French and Linguistics
>>>>>> Wayne State University
>>>>>> Detroit, MI  48202
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> mewinters at wayne.edu
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>> 
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> 
>>> a
>>> 
>>> Andy Bach,
>>> afbach at gmail.com
>>> 608 658-1890 cell
>>> 608 261-5738 wk
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> a
> 
> Andy Bach,
> afbach at gmail.com
> 608 658-1890 cell
> 608 261-5738 wk
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org