the curious grammar of Ohio

[Beverly Flanigan]

Good one!  I have yet to see positive "anymore" in fiction (it's not
Appalachian but is common in Midland Ohio and westward, all the way to
California now, I believe), but if the novel is really set in Ohio, I may
see it.  Two of my OU colleagues use it frequently.

At 04:35 PM 10/27/2004, you wrote:
>Anymore, I often wonder about that curious Ohio grammar, too.
>
>Peter Mc.
>
>--On Wednesday, October 27, 2004 2:25 PM -0400 Beverly Flanigan
><flanigan at OHIOU.EDU> wrote:
>
>>Needs looked into indeed!  Since I've been reading Appalachia-based novels
>>lately (because they're good, first, and because I'm looking for
>>representations of dialect, second), I'll make a point of getting this
>>book and reading it over Winter break.  Thanks for the tip!
>>
>>At 11:50 AM 10/27/2004, you wrote:
>>>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)
>
>
>
>*****************************************************************
>Peter A. McGraw       Linfield College        McMinnville, Oregon
>******************* pmcgraw at linfield.edu ************************