topic-marking "for me" 'as for me'

[victor steinbok]

I found one other instance for you:

http://goo.gl/QXkgo

> I understand that sentiment, but, for me, I won't be limited.


The problem is, "but" here thrown in a monstrous interference. "As for me"
would still be fine here, but the presence of "but" almost makes it
unnecessary.

Here'e another "but" version, without the comma:

http://goo.gl/LN2Is

> But for me, I'm more focused on executing an exciting fight. It's just my
> style.


In this case, it actually means "for myself" rather than "for my
part". Here's the full context:

I'm also a wrestler; I'm a junior-college All-American. I have pretty good
> ground-and-pound.
> But for me, I'm more focused on executing an exciting fight. It's just my
> style.


And here's the full context of the first quote:

[JF:] I get that, but many people – myself included - loved the experimental
> feel to Album. Is there a danger that Girls could become more self-limiting
> with the 'band' approach?
> CO: I understand that sentiment, but, for me, I won't be limited. At some
> point I'd like to make a record with an entire orchestra and work with an
> arranger. I don't want control of everything. To me it is all about
> servicing the song. There have been times when I have not wanted to even
> sing the song, which is kinda crossing the line. In order for it to be
> Girls, I still have to sing the song.


VS-)

On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Arnold Zwicky <zwicky at stanford.edu> wrote:

>
> caught (out of the corner of my ear, and with the context missing) on NPR's
> Morning Edition this morning, a politician (I think) saying, "For me, I'd
> like to do more", with truncated "for me" instead of "as for me".
>
> haven't been able to find the segment, and searching for this use of "for
> me" is forbiddingly difficult (as i discovered this morning).  so for the
> moment, it's an isolated example.
>
> arnold

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