ADS-L Digest - 16 Aug 2008 to 17 Aug 2008 (#2008-231)

[Wilson Gray]

That sounds right to me. The pronunciation that I had in mind is more
like "yay-ess," or even "yay-yess," when exaggerating for effect, than
like "yay-uss." And I didn't mean to imply that that and "can't
nobody" were other than a Southern English, including Black English,
phenomenon. And, as for Southern English as used by whites, I've heard
only the Blue-Collar Comedians use "can't nobody." And I'm willing to
accept the possibility that even they (over)used it merely for comic
effect.

My late mother-in-law, from Wilkes-Barre, said "yeh-uss," among other
trivial oddities. But I attribute that to the fact that she was
partially deafened by scarlet fever as a child. So, she  never really
had a chance fully to learn "correct" pronunciation.

As for "can't anybody," are you claiming that well-educated
BE-speakers of your acquaintance don't use it? Or simply that you've
never *heard* them use it? It's very likely that they avoid using
anything but what they perceive to be "proper" English, in the
presence of white people, pretty much regardless of how
well-acquainted that they may be with them. That's true of me.

At one time, you might have heard *me* say, "can't anybody," but only
because I mistakenly perceived it to be "proper" English for a very
long time. I was totally unaware, somehow.

-Wilson

On Mon, Aug 18, 2008 at 12:13 PM, Your Name <ROSESKES at aol.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Your Name <ROSESKES at AOL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: ADS-L Digest - 16 Aug 2008 to 17 Aug 2008 (#2008-231)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Re: "yay-uss," and "can't anybody":  My mother is, at heart, a white
> Southerner.  Her pronunciations definitely include the former, but the  latter is
> totally unknown in her speech.
>
> As a lifelong resident of central and western NY State, I've never heard a
> non-Southerner of any color say "yay-uss."  But "can't anybody" is  restricted
> to moderately educated blacks; and "can't nobody" to undereducated  blacks.
> Speaking only from my own observations, of course.
>
> Rosemarie
>
> The late worm misses the early  bird!
>
>
>
>
>
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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.
-----
-Mark Twain

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