"to stay" vs. "to live" (reside)

[Margaret Lee]

This topic was discussed on this list several years ago. 
 
African Americans' use of "stay" for "live" relates to the migration of blacks from the South to the North in the early 1900's. Those newly-arrived would often "stay" with family members or friends who had migrated there earlier until they could find a place of their own--many never did, given the harsh economic realities of the time,  and ended up "staying" with a family member or friend for long periods of time (years), or moving from place to place with no permanent residence in which to "live." As a result, in the African American community, the term "stay" gradually became synonymous with "live,"  though it originally referred to  residing in temporary lodging. I hear it used often by my students who have established, permanent addresses.  
 
-- Margaret Lee 

________________________________________
Margaret G. Lee, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of English & Linguistics
Department of English
Hampton University 
Hampton, VA 23668
757-727-5769(voice);757-727-5084(fax)
mlee303 at yahoo.com

--- On Sun, 3/8/09, Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET> wrote:


From: Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET>
Subject: "to stay" vs. "to live" (reside)
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2009, 1:18 AM


I taught for a number of years @ a historically black university in NC.
100% of my students used phrases like "where do you *stay*", or "I don't
*stay* with my parents"...situations where the average white person would
use *live*

How might this have originated?

Bill Palmer

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org