nom. for acc. (again)

[Wilson Gray]

It's a kind of in-joke. Having the last line of the textbook pompously
describe in English the last line of the Iliad, a poem that is called
by some the greatest literary work of the Western world, as its
"L-ast, L-ong-L-eaping L-ine," pun-ishly using alliteration, a feature
both of English poetry and of Homeric poetry, was supposed to bring a
smile to the face of the long-suffering student.

-Wilson

On 8/28/07, Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at ohio.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: nom. for acc. (again)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Amazing!  Until the other day, I had never heard (or seen) any of these
> citations!  Guess I don't watch enough television.
> But what is a "long-leaping" line?  A metrical term, I assume?
>
> At 10:58 PM 8/27/2007, you wrote:
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >Subject:      Re: nom. for acc. (again)
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >"Till death do we part" is also the last, long-leaping line of a
> >'Fifties R&B love song. (The textbook that we used for Homeric Greek
> >in high school described
> >
> >Hos hoi g'amphiepon taphon Hektoros hippodomoio
> >"Thus they carried out the burial of horse-taming Hector"
> >
> >as "the last, long-leaping line of The Iliad.")
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >On 8/27/07, Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at csli.stanford.edu> wrote:
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
> > > Subject:      Re: nom. for acc. (again)
> > >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > On Aug 27, 2007, at 11:36 AM, Beverly Flanigan wrote:
> > >
> > > > I saw this hypercorrection switcheroo today in a syndicated newspaper
> > > > article on a released prisoner:  The ex-prisoner said his wife had
> > > > stuck
> > > > with him because they had sworn "Till death do we part."  Amusing, if
> > > > impossible.
> > > >
> > > > Then again, maybe it's not the usual hypercorrection.  Since the
> > > > subjunctive mood of the frozen phrase is probably no longer
> > > > understood, the
> > > > speaker (many, perhaps?) may have thought 'we' and 'do' must agree
> > > > since
> > > > 'death' and 'do' couldn't.  I use a couple of such frozen phrases
> > > > in class
> > > > to illustrate syntactic change, and students often can't explain the
> > > > structures even though they know the phrases "by heart":
> > > > So be it
> > > > Be that as it may
> > > > Albeit
> > > > Would that it were so
> > > > And more word order inversion:
> > > > With this ring I thee wed
> > > > etc.
> > >
> > > surely the right analysis.  speakers are making the verb agreement
> > > "look right", even though it doesn't really make sense -- but then
> > > it's a fixed expression, and they don't *have to* make sense.
> > >
> > > tens of thousands of webhits for "do we part", taking in "till/til'/
> > > til/until death ..."  a CSI:Miami episode "Til Death Do We
> > > Part" (2005), a Murphy Brown episode "Till Death or Next Wednesday Do
> > > We Part" (1992), a Tales From the Crypt episode "Till Death Do We
> > > Part" (1993), a Tonya Dee song "Death Do We Part" (1961), a book "Til
> > > What Do We Part: A Wedding Planner for the Etiquette Impaired", a San
> > > Francisco Family Law Blog "'Til Prenup Do We Part", a blog entry
> > > "Until [Johnny] Depp Do We Part", a Milwaukee television news story
> > > "Til Debt Do We Part", and much, much more.
> > >
> > > arnold
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> >
> >
> >--
> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >-----
> >                                               -Sam'l Clemens
> >
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> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org