Heard on The Judges (embedded question)

[Wilson Gray]

On Mon, Apr 7, 2008 at 3:42 PM, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
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>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  Poster:       Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
>  Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges (embedded question)
>  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  Wilson,
>
>  Retention of Q-order in embedded Qs is so common that I find nothing
>  extreme about this. What makes it so to you?

The fact that the speaker embedded the entire question, instead of
answering merely, "I don't know," or  "Ah own know," as Ms. Sanchez
actually said, in eye-dialect, caught my attention.

-Wilson

>
>  There are plenty of speakers who do it with WH but not yes-no (e.g.,
>  "I don't know did they say that I had a....."), and those seem more
>  distanced from the standard form at least to me.

I take your point.

-Wilson
>
>  dInIs
>
>  >---------------------- Information from the mail header
>  >-----------------------
>  >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  >Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>  >Subject:      Heard on The Judges (embedded question)
>  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  >
>  >Judge:
>  >
>  >"Why would they [your neighbors] say that you had had a fight with
>  >your boyfriend?"
>  >
>  >
>  >Latin-African-American [Sanchez] female native-BE-speaker defendant:
>  >
>  >"I don't know _why would they say that I had had a fight with my boyfriend_."
>  >
>  >
>  >I know that this is not a heretofore-unknown phenomenon. It's just
>  >that this example struck me as a bit extreme.
>  >
>  >-Wilson
>  >--
>  >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
>
>
>  --
>  Dennis R. Preston
>  University Distinguished Professor
>  Department of English
>  Morrill Hall 15-C
>  Michigan State University
>  East Lansing, MI 48864 USA
>
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>  The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
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

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