The reason/point being

[Wilson Gray]

Yes, it does go way back. When I was in grade school in the 'Forties,
"The reason is because" was right up there with "In the first
beginning."

Wilson Gray

On Nov 5, 2004, at 2:57 PM, Beverly Flanigan wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIOU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: The reason/point being
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> --------
>
> Yes, this is common, and goes way back, I suspect (my h.s. teacher
> railed
> against it too).  But the substitution of 'being' for 'is' is what
> interests me.  I had never heard this substitution before coming to
> southern Ohio, but I suspect it's generational rather than regional,
> since
> I get it in student writing as well as in speech.
>
> At 02:32 PM 11/5/2004, you wrote:
>> I've heard several people say (and others lament) the following:
>> "The reason is because..."
>>
>> Rachel
>>
>> Beverly Flanigan wrote:
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIOU.EDU>
>>> Subject:      Re: "Big-Foot/Bigfoot Land"
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ----------
>>>
>>> This is totally unrelated to anything, but Wilson's "the point is
>>> that"
>>> reminded me of two alternate constructions:  "the point being that"
>>> and
>>> "the reason being that."  How common are these, and is there any
>>> regional
>>> siting for them (I doubt it, but--)?
>>
>> --
>> ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
>>
>> Rachel E. Shuttlesworth
>> CLIR Post-Doctoral Fellow
>> University of Alabama Libraries
>> Box 870266, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0266
>> Office: 205.348.4655/ Fax:205.348.8833
>> rachel.e.shuttlesworth at ua.edu
>