He'p! Adverbials w/AAVE stressed BEEN?

P2052 at AOL.COM P2052 at AOL.COM
Fri Feb 25 02:06:53 UTC 2000


In a message dated 2/23/2000 1:21:54 PM Central Standard Time,
mkuha at BSUVC.BSU.EDU writes:

<< You BEEN paid your dues a
 long time ago" and "I BEEN known him a long time."
  >>
I agree with Rickford.  Stressed been [BIN] inherently connotes duration;
thus, including a time adverbial would only render a construction that is
redundant.  In the examples cited, You BEEN paid your dues a long time ago"
and "I BEEN known him a long time,"  In the first instance, "You BEEN paid
your dues," should suffice for rendering the meaning, "You paid your dues a
long time ago."  I strongly suspect that, at least in the second instance,
the informant is actually saying, "I [been/bin]  know[ing] him a long time.
The monopthongization of the word knowing would make it homonymous with known.


Another possibility is that while BEEN/BIN is still being used to connote the
distant past, time adverbials (those of duration) are added  to augment/
protract/ intensify/ increase the durational nature of that action.  Compare,
thus, "You BEEN/ [BIN] paid your dues" (=A long time ago, you paid your dues)
 and You BEEN [BIN] paid your dues a long time ago (=In the very distant
past, you paid your dues.)
                                            ?PAT



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