wolfing/woofing (was Just wondering)

Sat Mar 1 05:11:59 UTC 2008

Yes, that is what she has, but who knows what sound she intended to
represent with that spelling? The ordinary eye-dialect representation
of the BE pronunciation of the word spelled "wolf" is "woof." For the
sound spelled "woof," there's the same variation in BE that there is
in any other dialect with regard to "hoof" and "roof." So, even if,
somewhere, she writes "woof (rhymes with 'hoof' and 'roof')," we'd
still need the help of a phonetician familiar with her idiolect to
decipher her intended pronunciation. But if, somewhere, she writes,
"By 'woof,' I mean the onomatopoetic representation of the barking of
a dog," then we "know a story," as we say in the 'hood. Otherwise, all
that I know for certain is that there is a BE word that Hurston spells
as "woof," but I don't know its standard equivalent is or even whether
there is one.

However, my intuition is that the standard equivalent is "wolf" and
I've found that intuition to match the intuition of blacks who have
had their work appear in print. Unfortunately, I have no cites to
offer, because, at the time - a couple of dekkids ago - I was
satisfied merely to know for certain that I wasn't swimming against
the tide in thinking that it couldn't truly be the case that when we
blacks said that we were woofin', we were saying that we were merely
barking like dogs and that we didn't have the IQ to be able to derive
from a concrete noun like "wolf" an abstract verb meaning "threaten
with physical harm."

-Wilson

On 2/29/08, George Thompson <george.thompson at nyu.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
>  Subject:      wolfing/woofing (was Just wondering)
>  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  It can be used to back away from a threat, while things are still at
>  the wolfing stage and there's still time to escape and yet maintain a
>  semblance of one's cool:
>
>  Isn't this usually "woofing" -- that's what Zora Neal Hurston has, anyway.  Is there such a thing as an "intrusive L"?
>
>  GAT
>
>  George A. Thompson
>  Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.
>
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>  Date: Friday, February 29, 2008 1:48 pm
>  Subject: Re: Just wondering
>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>
>  > For me, "That's your ass!" is a threat and a fairly serious one, at that.
>  >
>  > "Say what, muthafucka?! Aww, shit! Thash yo' ass, now, nigga!"
>  >
>  > Bystanders: "Awww, shit! Iss on, now! Somebody call de amba-lance 'fo'
>  > iss too late!"
>  >
>  > But, "Your ass" is usually used jokingly among friends, as when a
>  > person is joned with and has no comeback:
>  >
>  > A. "Man, y'all shoulda seen dat foxy thang dat I was brangin' P on,
>  > las' night!"
>  >
>  > B. "Y'all, I done seen de bitch dis nigga tawm 'bout an' she so ugly
>  > dat, when she look in da mirror, da mirra turn t' stone!"
>  >
>  > A. "Aw, yo' ass, muthafucka!"
>  >
>  > It can be used to back away from a threat, while things are still at
>  > the wolfing stage and there's still time to escape and yet maintain a
>  > semblance of one's cool:
>  >
>  > A. ""Fuck wit' me, nigga, an' it ain't gon' be but two blows thrown:
>  > me hittin' you an' you hittin' de flo'! You gon' git cho hayid shook,
>  > yo' money took, an' yo' name put inta de undataka's book!"
>  >
>  > B., turning away, mutters loudly: "Aw, yo' ass, muthafucka!"
>  >
>  > Bystanders, to B: "Damn, man! You stan' fo' dat, you stoop fo' dis!"
>  >
>  > B., walking away: "Fuck all (a) y'all!"
>  >
>  > And it can also be used as merely a strong negative:
>  >
>  > A. "Say, man, why don't you run up de street an' git me a forty?"
>  >
>  > B. Yo' ass, muthafucka.
>  >
>  > -Wilson
>  >
>  > On 2/29/08, Dennis Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
>  > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>  > >  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  > >  Poster:       Dennis Preston <preston at MSU.EDU>
>  > >  Subject:      Re: Just wondering
>  > >  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  > >
>  > >  Wilson, that's your ass!
>  > >
>  > >  "That's your ass," shortened to "your ass,"  is not the equivalent
>  > to
>  > >  "up yours" in my standard vernacular."Up yours" is a run-of-the mill
>  > >  insult, comeback, etc.. (much like "fuck you"). "(That's) your ass"
>  > >  is an indication that the speaker had lied, exaggerated, or perhaps
>  > >  behaved (usually verbally) in some inappropriate or undesirable way
>  > >  or has revealed something shocking or surprising, which could not
>  > >  possibly evoke an "Up yours."
>  > >
>  > >  dInIs
>  > >
>  > >
>  > >  >---------------------- Information from the mail header
>  > >  >-----------------------
>  > >  >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  > >  >Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>  > >  >Subject:      Just wondering
>  > >  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  > >  >
>  > >  >Has anyone else besides me noticed that whites say, "Up yours!",
>  > >  >whereas blacks say "Your ass!" (I'm assuming that "Up yours!" is also
>  > >  >a clip of "[Fuck you] up your ass!")
>  > >  >
>  > >  >-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
>  > >  >
>  > >  >------------------------------------------------------------
>  > >  >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
>  >
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>  > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>  ------------------------------------------------------------
>  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

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