"I'm gonna get me a dog"

Stahlke, Herbert F.W. hstahlke at bsu.edu
Tue Sep 28 03:23:28 UTC 2004


I'm interested that you use the term "ethical dative" for this.  It's a term I also used when I suggested this analysis on the other list that Johanna and I discussed this on.  I learned the term from Greek and Latin studies, but it doesn't show up in English studies much.  There is one footnote on it in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

Herb Stahlke

============

I'm not a native speaker of English, so maybe I should be reluctant, but I 
do know that I own an album by a contemporary American songwriter on which 
the following line can be heard:

"I went outside and I smoked myself a J "

What is more, I also have an album by some other American songwriter  that 
has a song with the line:

"I had me a girl in Minnesota/ She was only fillin'  her  quota"

Both albums sold over three million copies, and I am not aware that any 
buyer has ever complained about bad English. So one thing I think should be 
clear: these what i would call "ethical  datives" are a real phenomenon of 
at least American English.



More information about the Funknet mailing list