Been knowin'and Have to (WAS Want I should?)

[Baker, John]

        Where do you see the dividing line between North and South on
these points?  As a native of south-central Kentucky, I would have said
"I've known them for a long time" and "Should I have him call you?"  In
other words, the "North" versions (except that a native of my area is
unlikely to begin a sentence with "Shall I").


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of RonButters at AOL.COM
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2007 3:57 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Been knowin'and Have to (WAS Want I should?)

Another subtle syntactic difference between North and South is this:

NORTH: I've known them for a long time.
SOUTH: I've been knowin' them for a long time.

Aother is as follows:

NORTH: Shall I have him call you?
SOUTH: Shall I have him to call you?


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