LL-L "Grammar" 2003.03.03 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Global Moose Translations <globalmoose at t-online.de>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2003.03.02 (01) [E]

So Shakespeare wasn't above using grammatically correct English - good for
him!

But I still agree with Crióstoir: in spoken English, "me and my dog" instead
of "my canine companion and I" sounds a lot more "natural". Also, have you
ever asked a crowd of children, "Who wants ice cream?", and did a single one
of them yell "Iiiiiiiii"???

I strongly assume that the use of "me" as a subject has to do with Norman
influences in Britain. The French would never answer "Who's there" with
"Je!", after all, it's always "moi" (even Miss Piggy knows that). Also, "ma
femme et je" for "my wife and me" is an absolute no-no.

And, as a final point in case, here's the first verse of "Goodnight, Irene":

"Last Saturday night I got married,
Me and my wife settled down.
Now me and my wife are parted,
I'm gonna take another stroll in town."

Try and sing that using "my wife and I". Sounds horrible, doesn't it? :-)

Gabriele Kahn

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