Don't let's

[Barbara Need]

I consider _don't let's_ marked. (In Jim McCwaley's notation,
somewhere between pretty bad and pretty good.) I suspect I would not
use it, but I have no trouble interpreting it (= 'let's not). Whether
it is a Britishism or not, I am not a good judge of these things: I
read a lot of British fiction and watch Monty Python and Dr Who and
have gotten used to hearing those varieties. I also have been told I
can sound British at times.

Barbara

On 17 Jan 2008, at 10:29, LanDi Liu wrote:

> When you posted this, you gave your age/loc, but didn't say whether
> "don't let's" is grammatical for you, or if you personally use it
> or not, or if you feel it's a Britishism.
>
> --
> Randy Alexander
> Jilin City, China
>
> On Jan 17, 2008 11:34 PM, Barbara Need <nee1 at midway.uchicago.edu>
> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Barbara Need <nee1 at MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Don't let's
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
>
> On 16 Jan 2008, at 21:22, James Harbeck wrote:
>
> > I first saw "don't let's" in an Asterix comic when I was a kid.
>
> Ah, but was this a British or American translation (I believe both
> exist)? The difference is subtle, but jokes on "bangers" (for
> sausages and someone slamming a door) and greetings like "wotcher"
> clearly point to the former for specific versions.
>
> I collect Asterix and I don't remember seeing "don't let's", but that
> certainly doesn't mean it wasn't there, just that it didn't seems as
> strange to me as other Britishisms.
>
> Barbara
> (late 40s, TN (3mos), OH, MA, PA, WI, IL, SD
>
> Barbara Need
> UChicago
>
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