Heard on Judge Mathis

[Wilson Gray]

Fifty-ish, black female speaker from Chicago:

"My niece called me up and aksed for me to _co-sign for her a car_."

"I have me a good, government job. I couldn't afford to get up one
morning, go out, and find my car _stapled to the sidewalk_ [i.e.,
booted]."

Twenty-ish, black female speaker from Chicago:

"She my mother sister and I used to call her 'Auntie [Ejn.ti < [An.ti]
Rainey,' (sounded like "ANE teeRAINY") but now, since she suing me, I
just call her 'Lorraine'."


Sixty-ish, black male speaker from Cincinnati:

"I'm a recovering addict, your honor. I been clean for six years."

Judge Mathis:

"What were you addicted to?"

Speaker:

"Hehra-wawn [hE.r at wOn], uh, I mean, 'heroin,' your honor."


Given that "heh-rawn' and "hehra-wawn" have long - ten years? - been
the currently-hip, BE pronunciations and are used regularly by Judge
Mathis himself, it was strange that the speaker felt that he needed to
correct himself to the standard pronunciation, especially before a
black judge. But, of course,

Youneverknow.

--
-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

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