a construction that could use (to be) studied

[Ben Zimmer]

On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>
> On Jul 23, 2012, at 1:31 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
> > On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 10:33 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >> 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.
>
> Erie is east of Pittsburgh?  North, I'll grant you.  Anyway, I imagine
> "Western PA" would be the operative term.  I never heard either of these (or
> "needs washed") during my 4 years of living in Rochester.  Northern Cities
> vowels, yes, but not the other Western PA/Appalachian type features (needs +
> PPcpl, positive "anymore", "yinz", etc.).

And let's not forget that when Jack Davis, congressional candidate for
a district between Rochester and Buffalo, memorably said, "You want
punched out?" it marked him as a Pittsburgh transplant:

http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3161

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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