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

[Wilson Gray]

Shit, Ron! Give a brother a break!

"More nearly complete," "complete" being an absolute state, as opposed
to "*more complete" is the way that it was learnt to me, too, though I
rarely use it, for fear of appearing pompous. I'm impressed by your
more-gonadly attitude.

-Wilson

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 2:11 PM,  <RonButters at aol.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       RonButters at AOL.COM
> Subject:      Heard on The Judges: sE "there" > BE "it"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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
>>
>
>
>
>
> **************
> Wondering what's for Dinner Tonight? Get new twists on family
> favorites at AOL Food.
>
> (http://food.aol.com/dinner-tonight?NCID=aolfod00030000000001)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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