"matters" = "depends"

[sagehen]

>One more interesting item this morning.  I have a student who
>consistently uses "matters" to mean "depends."  E.g.:  if asked whether
>she could go out tonight, she'd say 'it matters if I have homework or
>not."  where I would say 'depends."
>
>Anyhow have any idea of the origins/region of this switching?  or other
>examples?
>
>Patti
 ~~~~~~~~~~
This rings a faint bell -- probably going back to my Nebraska childhood
before WWII -- and I find it associated with "rether" for "whether," as in
(using your e.g.) "it matters rether I have homework or not."
A. Murie