Mom's place

[Beverly Flanigan]

My southern Ohio informant said she wouldn't use the proper name alone in
this way, but "John and them" could be a "collective" term (her word),
meaning, as I thought, an implied reference to the original or complete
family even if only one person lives there at present.  Possessive would be
"John and them's (place)."

Beverly

At 09:46 AM 2/5/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>A variation of this that I have heard from Indiana relatives is
>Johns, meaning John and his family (as in Johns aren't coming to the
>reunion, since they have to be at the State Fair). This is in
>Frankfort, IN, north of Indianapolis.
>
>Barbara
>
>>I too think it's possessive, and it assumed it would be plural poss.  But
>>maybe it's like "you all," with plural implied even if only one person is
>>present. "Mom's place" could mean she lives there alone or with others, but
>>maybe it suggests the larger family unit?  I'll ask my informant.
>>
>>At 07:33 PM 2/4/2004 -0600, you wrote:
>>>I think "Mom 'n' 'ems" is probably a possessive rather than a plural and it
>>>doesn't necessarily mean that Mom has more than one companion.  My wife uses
>>>it with some frequency (central Illinois with mother and grandmother from
>>>southern Indiana, which I suppose is South Midlands.)
>>>Dave Hause, dwhause at jobe.net
>>>Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>From: "Beverly Flanigan" <flanigan at OHIOU.EDU>
>>>
>>>Two more:  We're going over to Mom 'n' 'ems (pl.).  "And them" is a common
>>>pl. in AAVE (or maybe Gullah); is this possessive variant common outside
>>>the South/South Midland?