Re Britspeak

[Wilson Gray]

Thanks, all. I appreciate the completeness of your replies, given that I was
only idly wondering.

-Wilson

On 5/3/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Re Britspeak
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On 5/3/06, Jonathon Green <slang at abecedary.net> wrote:
> >
> > Herewith some material in the context of 'reckon', meaning to esteem or
> > value (rather than 'to consider, to think, to suppose, to be of the
> > opinion'). As will be seen, it is generally used in the negative, e.g.
> > 'I don't reckon that lot.' Wright has it in the Eng. Dialect Dict. vol.
> V.
> [snip cites]
>
> And OED2 has, under sense 5d:
>
> ------
> colloq. To rate highly, to esteem. Usu. in negative phrases.
> 1957 Evening News 12 Nov. 6/4 If..an East Ender wants to say that he
> does not consider the character of another to be worth while he says
> 'I don't reckon him'.
> 1977 Sunday Times 52/3, I don't reckon the chances of Young Scientists
> of the Year..against Just William.
> ------
>
> Reminds me of the British usage of "rate" to mean 'to value highly',
> which invariably puzzles Americans (as when Simon Cowell uses it on
> "American Idol"). OED cites:
>
> ------
> 1973 Times 10 Feb. 7/7 You can never be sure of Brazil, of course, but
> I don't rate the South Americans next time. I believe 1974 will be
> dominated by the Europeans.
> 1973 New Society 12 Apr. 64/2 He would like to play cricket for
> Surrey, but he doesn't rate his chances.
> 1976 E. DUNPHY Only a Game? iv. 104 He's a good honest pro, but
> somehow Benny doesn't rate him.
> 1977 World of Cricket Monthly June 85/1, I must say we rated our
> chances going up to Headingley.
> ------
>
> With both "rate" and "reckon", a neutral term of valuation gets
> reanalyzed in colloquial usage as a positive one. Perhaps the semantic
> shift is modeled on the double sense of the verb "value".
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>
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