a construction that could use (to be) studied

[Wilson Gray]

On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:33 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
> "He could use hosing down"

Fir me, it has to be

"He could use _a_ hosing down. Otherwise, I agree with you.

> Midlands speakers _from Pittsburgh west and south_ can, to varying degrees, get "needs Ved", "wants Ved", "likes Ved", and > so on.

Not also north and east? The first person to mention this construction
to me was Bill Pepicello. (Remember him? Would you believe that he's
now the presidentxy of the University of Phoenix?) He's a native of
Erie, in NWPA, and these constructions are also a feature of the local
"heynabonics," here in NEPA.

Aptopos of nothing, the localism that most grabs my attention isn't
"Plymunt," once usual in BE as the pronunciation of the marque,
Plymouth, but "NANny.cook" for Nanticoke. I've always thought of it as
having the spelling-pronunciation, "NAN.ti.coke."

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

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