Tense in BE

[Wilson Gray]

Shoot, dInIs, I BEEN sayin' that! In fac', I been sayin' that kina
thang awla my life.

-Wilson, writing in the guise of [wIusn]

On 5/30/07, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Tense in BE
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Margaret,
>
> I remember quite distinctly "I BEEN knowing this" (with remotive
> stressed BEEN) from Black speakers (Louisville area) from some time
> ago (50s). As I recall, however, the context was "Why are you telling
> me what I've known for a long time?" The remotive plus progressive is
> not at all rare, and this could be the source for the "knowing this"
> for you cite, but in your memory it seems to be a simple agreement
> marker while I remember it as a slightly annoyed response to old news.
>
> I know; this breaks Preston's law of sociolinguistics #2. But since
> both my laws are broken daily here, I can't resist.
>
> dInIs
>
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Margaret Lee <mlee303 at YAHOO.COM>
> >Subject:      Re: Tense in BE
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:    When I was stationed in
> >Berlin ca.1961, I used to hear some black GI's
> >say "knowin' this" instead of "fuckin' A" or "I'm hip." At the time, I
> >figured that this was local slang brought from home, wherever that
> >was.
> >
> >
> >And the cool way to say it was with the stress on the first
> >syllable, "know' in this," used to indicate that you agree with what
> >someone has just said.
> >
> >   Margaret
> >
> >
> >---------------------------------
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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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