Heard on The Judges

[Dennis Preston]

LH,

I thought it was a restrictive.

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>At 2:16 PM -0400 3/24/08, Dennis Preston wrote:
>>Me too, and folk (linguists who don't know squat) keep tellin me I
>>"can't" say "I'se" for "I was."
>>
>
>Hey, some of us linguists know squat.
>
>LH
>
>>
>>
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>>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>>>Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>C'mown, now! I'se (I was) jes' funnin' wit chawl! I have to
>>>continually remind myself that  my comments on dialect generally refer
>>>to what was true in the '40's, '50's, '60's, and '70's and are not
>>>necessarily true, today. Though, given that these years seem like only
>>>yesterday, my comments should still be valid in the present. :-)
>>>
>>>FWIW, I know lots of WE speakers who use "I'se" for "I was." It seems
>>>to be an obvious-enough development.
>>>
>>>-Wilson
>>>
>>>On 3/24/08, 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: Heard on The Judges
>>>>
>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>
>>>>    I agree; when I say I am from Louisville, its important to know lots
>>>>    of stuff, including DOB; younguns there now conflate /hw/-/w/ and
>>>>    there is even a rumor of the low-back merger being sighted (auded?)
>>>>    on the eastern edge of the city. To the ramparts!
>>>>
>>>>    dInIs
>>>>
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>>>>    >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>>    >Poster:       David Bowie <db.list at PMPKN.NET>
>>>>    >Subject:      Re: Heard on The Judges
>>>>
>>>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>    >
>>>>    >From:    Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
>>>>    >
>>>>    ><snip>
>>>>    >
>>>>    >>  Ah, there's really no need to be so specific about DOB. Sen. Specter
>>>>    >>  of PA was on the Daily Show, the other night and, for some
>>>>reason, Jon
>>>>    >>  asked him his age. Specter's reply was approximately as follows:
>>>>    >
>>>>    >>  "The other day, while I was looking at my birth
>>>>certificate, I decided
>>>>    >>  that something so trivial that had happened so long ago
>>>>was no longer
>>>>    >>  worthy of mention."
>>>>    >
>>>>    >>  He shoots! He scores!
>>>>    >
>>>>    >>  Yes, I admit that, when I was but a mere stripling of your age, I
>>>>    >>  enjoyed letting people know that I was an adult. I had such a baby
>>>>    >>  face that I was still being carded at the age of 36. As
>>>>has often been
>>>>    >>  said, "Those were the good old days!" And, as has been said just as
>>>>    >>  often, "Those days are gone forever."
>>>>    >
>>>>    >No, just included year of birth 'cause the area i grew up in has been
>>>>    >going through some pretty severe and rapid linguistic changes over the
>>>>    >last century--so the *when* is pretty much as important as
>>>>the where for
>>>>    >that community.
>>>>    >
>>>>    >Specter's line is pretty good, though.
>>>>    >
>>>>    >--
>>>>    >David Bowie                               University of Central Florida
>>>>    >      Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
>>>>    >      house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
>>>>    >      chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.
>  >>>   >
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>>>>    >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
>>>
>>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>>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
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>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

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