Some (Irish?) lingo

[Judy Prince]

Thank you for your post, Wilson, and permit me to comment on just one
dimension of it.

I don't know how far back your 'lost youth' words go, but my own white woman
use of African-American loanwords begins in a very white midwestern world of
grammar school and high school in the 1950s, and the cache of A-A loanwords
increased from my university days and through closer association with
African-Americans thereafter.

Much of the time, especially in the earliest years, I had no clue that the
words had been 'taken' from black folk.

There're usually several problems for white women and men 'trying on' black
words, despite their natural desire to feel and hear themselves sound
'authentic'---because they inevitably sound ouchly non-authentic to others,
most particularly African-Americans.  Some 20 years ago, my [then-]teenaged
son [half African-American], hearing my 'authentic' attempts, said:  "Ma,
that's horrible.  Stop it!"  He was right, and I did.  But some of my joy in
trying to make new music went away, too.

I cannot authentically make the sound of  various 'Brit'-speaks, either, but
insist upon trying, despite others' proscriptions.  This topic [namely,
mimicking the words and sounds of other groups] is globally important.  An
excellent book on the subject is Peter Trudgill's Sociolinguistics:  An
introduction to language and society, [Penguin Books, 2000, 4th ed].

The 'blurb' from its back cover:

"The way we talk is deeply influenced by our class, sex and ethnic
background.  It can also have a profound effect on how we are perceived by
others.  In this fully updated edition of a classic text, Peter Trudgill
explores the evidence -- and the huge implications for social and
educational policy."

"Why do men swear more than women?  How do speech styles of most Black
Americans and whites growing up in 'Black areas' differ from those of other
whites?  Does it make sense to defend a language against 'contamination'
from foreign words and phrases?  Why are languages dying out at a
catastrophic rate and what can we do about it?  Should Serbo-Croat now be
called Serbian, Croatian or even Bosnian?  And in what sense, if any, is
standard French 'better' than Quebecois, or High German 'better' than
Schweizerdeutsch?"

"Such questions illuminate many fascinating aspects of human communication,
but they also lie at the heart of fierce political debates about how states
should deal with their linguistic minorities, when teachers should correct
their pupils' grammar and pronunciation and whether language promotes racial
and sexual stereotypes.  Only sociolinguists can provide objective answers:
 their key conclusions are set out in this celebrated book."

A powerful example of the inevitable wrestlings with the politics of
language is in the UK, in Glasgow, Scotland, where poet Tom Leonard
continues effectively spotlighting the issue.  You may wish to read Paul
Batchelor's excellent review of Leonard's recent poetry collection, Outside
the Narrative:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/17/poetry-leonard-batchelor-review

Best regards,

Judy


2009/11/14 Wilson Gray

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray
> Subject:      Re: Some (Irish?) lingo
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
<snips>

>
> (Every time that I hear white women on TV dramas and sitcoms using the
> black guy-talk of my lost youth - "I hear that Jane's been _getting a
> taste of strange_." "<gasp!> You mean that she's cheating on John?!" -
> I'm annoyed. Back in the day, girls and women weren't even supposed to
> know of the existence of this phrase, let alone use it in casual
> conversation.)
>
> Oh, well. What can you do? I'm just old and crochety, I guess.
>
> -Wilson
>
>

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