Heard on The Judges: sE "there" > BE "it"

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

Thanks for the more nearly complete explanation. Still, I expect such a
person would also say "y'all" under such circumstances, and many would use
perfective "done." Or multiple modals. Or maybe even the intensifier "plumb." Or add
"to" after "have" (e.g., "Do you want me to have him to call you?"; "They
almost had the ceiling to fall on their heads"). I know many many people who speak
Southern-related dialects who regularly use "it" instead of "that" and many of
them are highly educated. This is all so well documented in the literature
that it is not at all remarkable that someone might use any of these forms in a
relatively formal environment. I imagine there are a lot of white northerners
who also say "them guys" and "he don't" on court TV. So what?


In a message dated 5/8/08 1:58:18 PM, hwgray at GMAIL.COM writes:


> The post is somewhat spare, I must say. What I was getting at was
> that, even in a more-formal-than-normal environment and under the
> psychological pressure of having just heard the highest-ranking person
> in that environment use the standard form, the individual still used
> the dialect form, indicating - to me, anyhow - that the black speaker
> was unaware, consciously, that there was any distinction that existed
> between his syntax and that of the judge. I was once blessed with this
> lack of awareness.
>
> Unfortunately, I'm still cursed with an inability to be consciously
> aware that other people lack the ability simply to intuit my train of
> thought. :-(
>
> Sorry about that, Ron.
>
> -Wilson
>




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