Can a have an A, men?

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Wed Feb 4 13:21:37 UTC 2009


Well, you know how the colored are. They are a strange and inscrutable
people. I sometimes ponder the cruel circumstance - the inability of
the original populations to withstand the requirements of good,
Christian labor - that led to the introduction of this
seemingly-unintergratable nation into our country.  I first noticed
the phenomenon that you describe some seventy years ago. If it has
escaped your notice till now, then you are one of the fortunate many
who have been able to live lives that don't involve contact with those
people.

As for that jumped-up colored fellow now in the White House, perhaps
he may wish to consult with his predecessor, President George W. Bush,
an orator of Ciceronian - nay,Themistoclean! - abilities with not so
much as a trace of any regional or other non-standard speech patterns.
It will be decades before the standard that the mellifluously-fluent
President Bush, whose oratory set a standard that will not soon be
surpassed.

I suggest speech therapy, perhaps combined with an introductory course
in public speaking, for the colored gentleman who has, most
astonishingly, replaced our former great leader.

-Wilson
–––
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.
-----
-Mark Twain



On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 7:11 AM, Rex W. Stocklin
<listcatcher at rexstocklin.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Rex W. Stocklin" <listcatcher at REXSTOCKLIN.COM>
> Subject:      Can a have an A, men?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I assume my posts are annoying little laic gnats in the rarified air
> of all your wordsmiths, but I DO have one observation, I've yet to
> see any pundit or other social observer make.
>
> And I'm wanting to know if it is a cultural quirk I've managed to
> miss like "It's ALL good". I'm speaking of erudite black folks'
> seeming propensity to use "a" instead of "an", when not only grammar
> but consonance seem to demand the latter. (article-noun agreement?)
>
> The most audible culprit is President Obama, who regularly n-drops.
> Here is one ironic citation:
>
> "Oh, well, you know, we have thought about this because part of what
> we want to do is to open up the White House and, and remind people
> this is, this is the people's house. There is an incredible bully
> pulpit to be used when it comes to, for example, education. Yes,
> we're going to have A EDUCATION policy..." - from "Meet the Press"
> 12/7/08
>
> Folks he DOES it all the time!!!! "a economy," "a official," "a
> Afghani," "a enormous," "a understanding". Just listen closely some
> time.
>
> There was an incident with a football player during the pre-game of
> the SuperBowl, but that one I didn't note. THEN Sunday evening
> erstwhile Colts coach Tony Dungy, in a local TV affiliate interview
> (for locals it was was WTHR's Dave Callabro) heard saying (regarding
> his participation at the Inagural Gala): "It was A UNBELIEVABLE
> experience"
>
> It is a very recent trend that is like nails on my cochlea. And I've
> yet to hear any other ethnic group partake in the phenomenon.
>
> Any thoughts? Is this further erosion of the mother tongue, or a
> somehow useful evolution?
>
> Rex, in the cheap seats.
>
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>

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