"you pays your money"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 8/15/07, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at csli.stanford.edu> wrote:
>
> On Aug 15, 2007, at 11:20 AM, Scot LaFaive wrote:
>
> > I wonder if the form of the verb(s) here come from actual usage or
> > just the attempt to appear colloquial.
>
> oh, the verb form (apparently 3sg, no matter what the person/number
> of the subject) is an extremely well-known non-standard dialect
> feature, in the U.K. and the U.S.  the other non-standard features in
> the sayings i cited (relativizer "as", subject "them" and
> "them's"/"thems") are also attested in non-jocular non-standard speech.
>
> i'm struggling to recall the literature on leveling to 3sg.  there's
> variation in the verbs that show it ("be" is more resistant to it, in
> particular, though (i think) different uses of BE work differently)
> and in which person/number combinations show it, and (i think)
> differences between the present and past tenses and between different
> uses of the tenses (i vaguely recall that narrative presents are more
> likely to show it than "true" presents).  and, of course, in the
> details from one region/social group to another.
>
> it would be wonderful if someone's assembled a bibliography on this
> stuff.  (he said, hopefully.)
>
> in any case, people who don't use these non-standard features can
> still deploy them for effect in fixed expressions.  (oh, yes, there's
> also "ain't": "ain't love grand?", "he ain't heavy, he's my brother",
> etc.)  in this context, they're not "authentic" for these speakers.
> but they're authentic for other speakers.

For jocular leveling to 3sg, cf. "(So) I says to myself, 'Self...' (I
says)", which I've discussed both here and on Language Log.

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002658.html
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002661.html
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003351.html


--Ben Zimmer

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