[Fwd: I'm a reporter with a question]

[Salikoko S. Mufwene]

Is there anybody out there who can answer the following question from
Mr. Jeffrey Weiss? Please write him even if you respond to the list.

Sali.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        I'm a reporter with a question
Date:   Fri, 27 Oct 2006 17:15:45 -0500
From:   Weiss, Jeffrey <JWeiss at dallasnews.com>
To:     's-mufwene at uchicago.edu' <s-mufwene at uchicago.edu>



I'm trying to track down the idiomatic use of "Kumbaya." As in: "We're not
just going to sit together and sing 'Kumbaya,' are we?"
Obviously, it started as a song. I've tracked the history of that, including
the Library of Congress evidence for Gullah origins in South Carolina and
Georgia.
 What I'm seaching for now is how/when it shifted to the widespread ironic
usage. Far as I can tell, based on newspaper references, this happened in
the late 1970s or early 1980s. But why this song, among all the folk songs
of the era?
 In the past couple of months, Kumbaya as an ironic reference has cropped up
in a bubblegum ad (Bazooka) and a political ad.

Have you looked into this or can you suggest someone who has?

I found your contact information on the americandialect.org website. I was
looking for experts on slang and idioms but noticed you had worked with
Gullah.

Thank you for your consideration.

Jeffrey Weiss
The Dallas Morning News
jweiss at dallasnews.com
214-977-8738




--
**********************************************************
Salikoko S. Mufwene                    s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor
University of Chicago                  773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924
Department of Linguistics
1010 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/faculty/mufwene
**********************************************************

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