Standard non-standardisms (was: Heard on The Judges: sE > to BE)

[Dennis Preston]

In non-Dylan versions from the "folk years" (that
near death for American music, maybe even closer
than disco) the velar nasal is frequent - ones I
overheard, of course, since I wouldn't have
chosen to listen to them myself.

dInIs

PS: For whom A Mighty Wind was almost too much
like the horrible reality to be funny.

>---------------------- Information from the mail
>header -----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Damien Hall <halldj at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
>Subject:      Standard non-standardisms (was: Heard on The Judges: sE > to BE)
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>dInIs wrote:
>
>>  I guess I don't consider any cases of r-lessness as
>>  nonstandard so don't give me no Pahk yuh cah in Hahvahd Yahd stuff.
>
>Glad to hear it!
>
>On the principle of not including brand-names like _Dunkin' Donuts_ in a
>collection of non-standardisms, because they've never occurred in the standard
>form *_Dunking Donuts_ and don't occur like that, because they're always used
>in the non-standard, indeed trademarked form:  I agree that for this reason
>such non-standardisms should not be included in a collection of spontaneous
>productions.  But, as a side-note, formal contexts can produce the interesting
>effect of re-introduction of the standard form into these fossilised
>non-standards, so speakers are clearly still aware of what the standard
>'should' be.  I remember being struck by this while doing a study where we got
>speakers to fill the blank in the sentence
>
>Bob Dylan sang "Blowiní in the Wind" to protest against _____________.
>
>to test their production of short-a in _sang_.  At least one white,
>middle-class, middle-aged male speaker produced a velar nasal in the
>song-title, even though it doesn't officially have one (in the official
>discography on Dylan's website) and wasn't presented with one in the stimulus.
>
>Damien Hall
>University of Pennsylvania
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>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