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

[Margaret Lee]

In response to Ron Butters' comment below:
 
I have evidence from my own family-- aunts and uncles, and older cousins--who migrated from rural Virginia to northern states during the late 1930's and '40's and into the '50's.  On their return visits to family in Virginia or my visits with them, they would often talk about their housing situations (who "stayed" where, with whom, and why) so I have observed their and their children's use of "stay" for "live" most of my life. 

--Margaret Lee

----- Original Message -----
From: <ronbutters at AOL.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 10:24 AM
Subject: Re: "to stay" vs. "to live" (reside)


> If this is true, then why do rural whites (and blacks) in the South use
> "stay" = 'reside'? Is there even a shred of evidence for Margaret's
> explanation? It looks like just another fanciful folk  conjecture.
>
> ------Original Message------
> From: Margaret Lee
> Sender: ADS-L
> To: ADS-L
> ReplyTo: ADS-L
> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] "to stay" vs. "to live" (reside)
> Sent: Mar 8, 2009 7:11 AM
>
> 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
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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





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