Preposition deletion

[Grant Barrett]

The sentences below come from a listener to the radio show, who says
she remembers them from her family in the 1950s.

"let's go across the park" = let's go across the street to the park

"let's go down the basement" = let's go down the stairs to the basement

I believe I've read something about this sort of preposition deletion
in the last few years, but I can't get enough purchase on the key
elements of it to get fruitful results online or in my library.

Any ideas as to whether this is a common dialect feature and if it's
been discussed elsewhere?

Thanks,

Grant Barrett
gbarrett at worldnewyork.org
113 Park Place, No. 3

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