LL-L "Grammar" 2006.05.12 (06) [E]

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   L O W L A N D S - L * 12 May 2006 * Volume 06
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From: Kevin and Cheryl Caldwell <kevin.caldwell1963 at verizon.net>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2006.05.10 (05) [E]

Ron, I sent this on the 10th, but I don't think it made it out to the list. 
Thanks!

Kevin

> From: From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Grammar
>
> Recently, Gabriele mentioned that many Americans say "to wait on"
> instead of "to wait for."
>
> According to most traditional grammars, both of them are grammatical,
> those most dialects these days use "to wait for" in the sense of
> awaiting someone or something and "to wait on" in the sense of serving
> someone; e.g.,
>
> (1) "I'm tired of waiting for you all the time."
>     (I am sick of standing/sitting around until you arrive.)
>
> (2) "I'm tired of waiting on you all the time."
>     (I am sick of you expecting me to be your waiter.)
>
> However, as I said, "to wait on" can mean the same as "to wait for."
> It is perceived as somewhat odd and old-fashioned by most people now.
> It occurs a lot in church language, especially in Southern Protestant
> contexts (e.g., the Baptist slogan "Wait on the Lord!"), also "stuffy"
> legal and administrative language (e.g., "waiting on a court
> decision"). I have a hunch it is Scottish-derived, because I believe
> that it is quite common in Scots and Scottish English.

Actually, it's from the King James Version of the Bible, as in the famous 
passage in Isaiah 40:31, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles..." Interestingly, "wait 
on" or "wait upon" seems to occur only in the Old Testament in the KJV (but 
"wait for" also occurs), while in the New Testament it's usually "wait for".

It also could be that Americans have misunderstood "wait on/upon" in the KJV 
and it really means "serve". But then I checked the NIV, where Isaiah 40:31 
is translated with "hope in", with the footnote indicating that it refers to 
looking with expectation.

There's also the phrase "wait up", as in, "Hey, guys, wait up! I can't run 
that fast!" Which reminds me that "slow up" and "slow down" mean the same 
thing.

Kevin Caldwell 

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