tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post1309890332134693079..comments2024-03-14T10:31:26.918+00:00Comments on DCblog: On 'I asks' in Sherlock HolmesDChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-11178248045414364822012-07-07T23:56:14.585+00:002012-07-07T23:56:14.585+00:00This phenomenon (and a couple of related ones) has...This phenomenon (and a couple of related ones) has alread made its way into Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_subject_rulePeadarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-62577589262371863342012-07-07T23:55:22.225+00:002012-07-07T23:55:22.225+00:00This phenomenon (and a couple of related ones) has...This phenomenon (and a couple of related ones) has alread made its way into Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_subject_rulePeadarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-85434613834035532612012-01-22T11:25:31.165+00:002012-01-22T11:25:31.165+00:00Dozens of examples of this in every episode of Gav...Dozens of examples of this in every episode of Gavin and Stacey. Barry Island may start a trend!Paul Wingrovenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-58735034944710463382011-11-19T15:57:53.099+00:002011-11-19T15:57:53.099+00:00The cognitive verbs in English (such as know, thin...The cognitive verbs in English (such as <i>know</i>, <i>think</i>, <i>remember</i> etc. often operate differently from other verbs, as has often been noted in relation to the use of the present simple vs continuous (e.g. <i>I remember</i> more likely than <i>I'm remembering</i>). Dialects vary in their preferences - for example, the continuous form is more acceptable in Indian English. And there are changes taking place, as seen in the McDonald's slogan 'I'm lovin' it'. So I wouldn't be surprised to find usage differences of the kind you mention.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-33035679209363175572011-11-18T19:08:59.556+00:002011-11-18T19:08:59.556+00:00Round my way in Norfolk, we have first person endi...Round my way in Norfolk, we have first person ending -s ('I says') while the third person is without ('he go'). Instead of the neuter pronoun 'it' they use 'that', which gives rise to the story of the two old Norfolk boys watching a new piece of farm machinery: one asks 'Do that do that?' and the other replies 'That do.' <br />My feeling is that first person with -s is much more common in verbs such as 'ask', 'say', etc than in verbs such as 'know', 'think', 'like' etc. I wonder whether you'd agree?<br />It's not impossible to say 'I thinks', but it does sound super-rustic - more like a bad Mummerset accent than something one might overhear in real life - but one hears 'I says', 'I asks' practically every day.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16288917377032021803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-58288672199280609122011-11-17T10:59:47.516+00:002011-11-17T10:59:47.516+00:00The usage you describe is common usage here in Yor...The usage you describe is common usage here in Yorkshire. It's a tense that isn't found in Standard English and is only used when recounting events or a story.Leehttp://peakwalking.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-52907921900209789482011-11-14T19:34:40.285+00:002011-11-14T19:34:40.285+00:00John Bagnall
"Pirates always speaks in the p...John Bagnall<br /><br /><i>"Pirates always speaks in the present tense"</i><br /><br />This was explained by a pirate character played by Andy Hamilton in <b>The Million Pound Radio Show</b><br /><br /><i>It's an old unbreakable rule for as long as pirates ... <b>is!</b></i>David Crosbiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858358459416955921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-15375565773836951752011-11-14T10:47:02.044+00:002011-11-14T10:47:02.044+00:00John: great background story. Many thanks.John: great background story. Many thanks.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-3554368817628564852011-11-14T10:43:10.191+00:002011-11-14T10:43:10.191+00:00If used by someone who normally speaks/writes stan...If used by someone who normally speaks/writes standard English, it's a conscious attempt to identify with a more demotic situation. The stylistic effect varies, depending on whether the intention is to amuse, insult, or whatever, or - as in the present example - simply to represent a character's normal way of speaking.<br /><br />'Read' in this context means 'read the works of [Conan Doyle]'.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-14386672374839809162011-11-14T01:06:17.694+00:002011-11-14T01:06:17.694+00:00I've lived in Portsmouth, Hampshire (England) ...I've lived in Portsmouth, Hampshire (England) for the past 22 years. From the outset, I was struck by the local habit of placing experiences in the present tense: "I wakes up", "I goes to work", "I goes down the pub" and so on. That's not to say that you'll hear it everyday, but it's a conversational shibboleth which I've always taken to reflect Portsmouth's seafaring heritage ("Pirates always speaks in the present tense")as well as its strong cultural identity based in no small part on local ties traced back by some families over many generations. No more often have I heard this particular aspect of 'Pompey-speak' than as a safety steward at Fratton Park — where Arthur Conan Doyle, then a GP with a practice in the Southsea area of the city, also played as a goalkeeper for Portsmouth Association Football Club under the pseudonym A.C.Smith. If he didn't hear "I asks" on an almost daily basis in his Elm Grove surgery, he certainly heard it there.John Bagnallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03889125624726979342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-16803313172047477902011-11-13T06:06:33.472+00:002011-11-13T06:06:33.472+00:00Is there any stylistic effect being played when so...Is there any stylistic effect being played when someone says in informal narrative by adding an "s" as in "I asks"? If yes, what is it then?<br /><br /> Mr.Marc Leavitt said:<br /><br />"While I haven't read him in years, I believe similar solecisms occur in..."<br /><br />What does read mean in the part quoted above?Ismael Toharinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-31396236036565095722011-11-12T19:36:05.706+00:002011-11-12T19:36:05.706+00:00No idea. It's pretty common in the UK too, in ...No idea. It's pretty common in the UK too, in informal narrative.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-44770926760547814782011-11-12T19:31:11.537+00:002011-11-12T19:31:11.537+00:00I hear "I says" pretty frequently here i...I hear "I says" pretty frequently here in Utah. Do you have any idea how widespread this is in the United States?Jonathonhttp://www.arrantpedantry.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-58099938833696270792011-11-12T17:55:47.461+00:002011-11-12T17:55:47.461+00:00Yes, this is normal. I talk a bit about it in the ...Yes, this is normal. I talk a bit about it in the last chapter of <i>The Stories of English</i>. People saying things like 'If it ain't broke...' or (in a soccer context) 'we was robbed'. I don't think this is what is going on in the Holmes example, though.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-74373278537689949462011-11-12T17:23:17.238+00:002011-11-12T17:23:17.238+00:00David:
My father, who spoke perfectly acceptable s...David:<br />My father, who spoke perfectly acceptable standard American English, by way of emphasis, would occasionally use phrases like "It don't matter."While I haven't read him in years, I believe similar solecisms occur in Fielding's "Tom Jones" and many authors down to the present day. In each case the authors are attempting to mirror English "as it is spoke" at various times, while well aware of the current standards.Marc Leavittnoreply@blogger.com