Heard on The Judges (embedded question)

[Dennis Preston]

OK. I thought it was the form of the embedded Q that grabbed you, and
I was fintah embed some Qs all over your ass.

dInIs

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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges (embedded question)
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>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
>>
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>>   >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
>>
>>   ------------------------------------------------------------
>>   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


--
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