"Little" xxxx. From early R&B to Rap.

[Carol Snow]

My neighborhood (1950s SoCal) had a Chicano family with a daughter
called Little Mary - again to distinguish her from her mother, so
though females aren't typically named Junior, the appellation can
refer to mothers and daughters as well.


>Not only in AA-communities: my Irish-Swedish-American family differentiated
>"Big Larry" (b. 1909) from "Little Larry" (b. 1936) even when "Little
>Larry" was 2" taller than his dad.
>
>--On Monday, March 10, 2003 2:01 AM -0800 Margaret Lee <mlee303 at YAHOO.COM>
>wrote:
>
>>>Why would the appellation "Little or Lil' " be very common in Black
>>>English?
>>>Because the performers started at a very young age and were truly
>>"little?"
>>
>>That, plus in many instances in the African American community,
>>especially for males, "big" and "little" were/are used to distinguish
>>the father from the son with the same name-- Big Joe and Little Joe.
>>
>>
>>
>>--- Sam Clements <sclements at NEO.RR.COM> wrote:
>>>While waiting for my son today, I was listening to "the oldies."
>>>And heard
>>>a familiar song by Little Anthony and the Imperials.  And then I
>>>thought of
>>>Little Richard.
>>>
>>>And then I thought about my son's devotion to Rap and Hip Hop, with
>>>more
>>>singers than you can shake your booty at who have the name "Little"
>>>before
>>>their given name.  There's Little Wayne.  Lil' Romeo,  Lil' Kim,
>>>and many
>>>others.
>>>
>>>So I got out my Billboard top 40, and discovered Little
>>>Caesar(1961), Little
>>>Eva(1962), Little Joe(1957), Little Joey(1962), Little
>>>Milton(1965).  Most
>>>are listed as R&B("Black") singers.  I don't know how many were
>>>Afro-American, but that is the question I pose.
>>>
>>
>>
>>=====
>>Margaret G. Lee, Ph.D.
>>Associate Professor - English and Linguistics
>>  & University Editor
>>Department of English
>>Hampton University, Hampton, VA 23668
>>(757)727-5769(voice);(757)727-5084(fax);(757)851-5773(home)
>>e-mail: margaret.lee at hamptonu.edu   or   mlee303 at yahoo.com
>>
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>
>
>
>_________________________________________
>"We are all New Yorkers"
>       --Dominique Moisi