the curious grammar of Ohio

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

from David Blaustein's review of Keith Banner's The Smallest People
Alive, in the Lambda Book Report, August/September 2004, p. 25:
-----
Another unifying idea is simply the context of the book: The stories
are all set in Ohio, where Banner lives.  Banner uses the curious
grammar of the region to great effect throughout his book, employing a
series of voices that may not come in for much attention by the
publishing centers of this country, making a lie of that often repeated
idea that regional differences are being subsumed into a standard (and
presumably bland) way of life in this country.  Whether Banner is
comfortable being labeled as a regional writer or not, he has produced
a work that is wholly of a specific place and time.
-----

how frustrating is this?  what *part(s)* of Ohio?  (the state has one
very big dialect-area split, and of course local varieties.)  i'm
guessing the appalachian and ohio river valley east/south, on the basis
that Banner is a West Virginia native and that the book was published
by Carnegie Mellon University Press, but that's just a guess; we'll
have to look at the book to find out.

and *what* "curious grammar"?  this question really needs looked into.

arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)