Question: Bob Dylan's performance dialect

[Jonathan Lighter]

Ramblin' Jack Elliott, of Brooklyn, N.Y., sedulously tried to imitate Woody's pronunciation and delivery, with surprisingly good results.

  JL

Dan Goodman <dsgood at IPHOUSE.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Dan Goodman
Subject: Re: Question: Bob Dylan's performance dialect
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Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>
> Bob Dylan whose from Minn. is a'talkin like Woody Guthrie whose from Okla.
> What's a'goin on here.
>
Actually, he isn't. He's said to be; but to my ear it's not very close.

>Is dialect primarily pronunciation or word choice?

Sorry; I should have been more specific. In this case, it's pronunciation.

>>
>> Bob Dylan doesn't sing in the native dialect of someone from "so far
>> north in Minnesota that Moosehead isn't beer, it's a misdemeanor." It's
>> widely assumed that he's imitating Woody Guthrie's dialect; but I don't
>> hear much resemblance.
>>
>> So: 1) Is Dylan assuming some other dialect? 2) Is he trying to sound
>> like Woody Guthrie and getting it wrong, or 3) Do I have no ear for
>> dialect and he's getting it right?
>>
>> --
>> Dan Goodman
>> "I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
>> Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
>> Journal http://dsgood.livejournal.com
>> Futures http://dangoodman.livejournal.com
>> Mirror Journal http://dsgood.insanejournal.com
>> Links http://del.icio.us/dsgood
>>
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>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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--
Dan Goodman
"I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers."
Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Expire
Journal http://dsgood.livejournal.com
Futures http://dangoodman.livejournal.com
Mirror Journal http://dsgood.insanejournal.com
Links http://del.icio.us/dsgood

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



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