a locus classicus for fronted "anymore"

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:27 AM -0400 8/19/09, Lynne Miles-Morillo wrote:
>The quotation from the Times is  an instance of fronted negative
>anymore, but I think *positive* fronted anymore is a particularly
>interesting thing to hear, and this usage thrives around here
>(central Indiana) in sentences such as
>
>Anymore, we all pump our own gas.
>

My hypothesis (not explicitly formulated) is that because the fronted
"anymore" is not in the scope (or, more technically, the c-command
domain) of the negation in examples like the Duluth one from the
Times ("Anymore, the airlines don't want to take the risks"), no
speakers would find that one possible who wouldn't accept yours as
well (or cf. "Anymore, the auto makers are willing to accept the
risks")  Certainly, there are a lot of speakers who would never say
either one, and there are a lot (although a smaller numer) who could
say either, but are there speakers who could utter/accept the fronted
negative (Duluth) example but not the fronted positive ones?  There
are certainly speakers who get positive "anymore" (e.g. D. H.
Lawrence's example from _Women in Love_, "Suffering bores me any
more") but can't do the fronting.  This is why I was saying earlier
that the fronted _anymore_ speakers are a proper subset of the
positive _anymore_ speakers.  If there's someone who can get the
Duluth example but not e.g. "We all pump our own gas anymore", my
hypothesis is falsified.

LH



>
>
>On Aug 19, 2009, at 10:12 AM, Alison Murie wrote:
>
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       Alison Murie <sagehen7470 at ATT.NET>
>>Subject:      Re: a locus classicus for fronted "anymore"
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>I may have posted on this before.  I first heard positive "anymore"
>>from a neighbor in Shelton, WN, in 1947 (which neighbor had moved
>>there during the war from  rural MO).   I was startled by what, to me,
>>was a novel use. I had grown up in Lincoln NE & Chicago North Shore.
>>My older brother began using it after living many years in Portland,
>>OR.  Go figure.
>>AM
>>
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