knowumsayin

Charles Wells charles at FREUDE.COM
Mon Jun 11 13:34:35 UTC 2001


I hear young people say this, perhaps African Americans more often than white.
It sounds to me like "No-am sane?" (the a is a schwa and the vowel in "sane" is
rather long and NOT nasalized.)  Aaron McGruder, in his Boondocks cartoons,
spells it "knowhumsayin" or "knoowhumsaayin".  I don't know why the "h".

--Charles Wells

>Here's a question I can't answer. If you can, please include the inquirer's
>e-mail address in your reply. - Allan Metcalf
>
>>>I was wondering if you could help me find some information on the origin
>and use of the word "knowumsayin'." Do you know where I might begin?
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Ken Gordon
>melonayse at hotmail.com<<



Charles Wells,
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, Case Western Reserve University
Affiliate Scholar, Oberlin College
Send all mail to:
105 South Cedar St., Oberlin, Ohio 44074, USA.
email: charles at freude.com.
home phone: 440 774 1926.
professional website: http://www.cwru.edu/artsci/math/wells/home.html
personal website: http://www.oberlin.net/~cwells/index.html
NE Ohio Sacred Harp website: http://www.oberlin.net/~cwells/sh.htm



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