Hi Glenda,
Though terminology associated with grammar and syntax is useful in grouping words associated with the concept of making something happen, I think such categorization is most productive if it leads to an analysis of steps taken in making things happen. Actions break down into steps. Conditionals are considerations of circumstances required or desired to take action. Our ability, intent, and obligation are also factored in. The question arises, though, in terms of focus. If you are going to get married, "married" is the focus. The same would be so if you were fixin' to get married. But, what if you are preparing to get married? When does our focus shift from the goal to the steps taken to achieve that goal?
The same question arises when a student writes, "I started to climb the fence." How does "started" differ from the act of climbing? John R. Searle writes that the grammar of action breaks down into many steps. But, in these, action begins with the general intent to act, followed by a direct intent that initiates the action, itself. I think that young writers have an unconscious awareness of that second intention that shows up in their writing as "started to." The question is: What does that signify to the reader.
The other question is this: When does a term like "fixin' to" achieve a cultural buy-in to what is being said because it asserts a shared belief: "Around here we like take our own good time when doin' somethin' so it don't cause no problems." Our brains love this stuff, especially that "around here" that we now hear in commercials selling solid principles of financial planning. When words acquire strong emotional overtones, they have been bent to a social purpose that changes their meaning and significance to an audience.
I would say, Glenda, in connecting with Marshall as you have, you have introduced personal information (speaking of social purpose) that adds greatly to the discussion you initiated some time ago. Let me go back to the beginning to ask about the use of "me" in Langston Hughes' line "I'm gonna write me some music . . ." Is it like: "I'm gonna sit right down and write myself a letter"? Is it like: "I'm gonna write it myself"? Or, is it something else? And, if so, what grammatical, syntactical term would be used to categorize it? This is not a rhetorical question. I really don't know.
Perhaps someone out there can help me.
Thanks,
Gregg
On Jul 4, 2014, at 6:36 PM, Conway, Glenda wrote:
> Hi Marshall!
>
> Where I live, the wording is "I'm fixin' to. We like to take our own good time when doing so won't cause a disaster.
>
> Are you retired? Where are you living?
>
> It's so good to hear you here.
>
>
> Glenda
>
>
>
> Glenda Conway
>
> Professor, English
>
> Coordinator, Harbert Writing Center
>
> Department of English and Foreign Languages
>
> University of Montevallo
>
> Montevallo, AL 35115
>
> 205 665 6425 office
>
> 205 482 4380 cell
>
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Myers, Marshall [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Friday, July 04, 2014 8:20 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: "I'm gonna write"--verb + infinitive or verb + auxiliary?
>
> Glenda,
>
> Old classmate here!
>
> “Going to” is many times regarded as a two-word modal auxiliary like the related “can,” may,” might” and others.
>
> “I’m going to go”
> “I may go.”
>
> Marshall Myers
> Professor Emeritus
> Eastern Kentucky University
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael
> Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 8:05 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: "I'm gonna write"--verb + infinitive or verb + auxiliary?
>
> Glenda
>
> This is the first message I have received from ATEG. I was not sure it was an active list.
>
> I have a couple of brief observations:
>
> 1. You could interpret the structure either way, but you also need to explain to students the pragmatic meaning of the grammar in addition to labeling it with a pedagogical grammar structure.
>
> 2. One pragmatic meaning of "gonna" is to have an intention and subsequently a plan to do something. Intentions entail plans.
>
> 3. You might also mention the informal spoken linguistic register of the poem.
>
> 4. I was just reading yesterday about the progressive tense in the British National Corpus which found that overwhelming percentage of its use (65%) was what the author described as "repeatedness" or in other words, "an ongoing single event." An example of repeatedness from the corpus in the article was "You are once again doing it completely and utterly wrong." The source for this is a book chapter:
>
> Romer, U. (2010). Using general and specialized corpora in English language teaching: Past, present, and future. In M. Compoy-Cubillo, B. Belles-Fortuno, and M. Gea-Valor. (Eds.), Corpus-based approaches to English language teaching (pp. 18-35). London: Continuum.
>
> Romer conducted a large study of progressive in a 2005 book, Progressives, patterns, pedagogy: A corpus-driven approach to progressive forms, functions, contexts, and dialectics.
>
> I do not think repeatedness is the pragmatic function of the line, but teaching students about using corpus studies, and pragmatics to inform our knowledge of grammar is certainly worth the time.
>
> Mike Busch
>
>
>
>
>
> Greetings—
>
> Today, in my Advanced English Grammar class, I showed Langston Hughes’s “Daybreak in Alabama” as an example of a poem with two sentences.
>
> I realized while showing the poem that I was not sure how to divide the slots of the first main clause, which is
>
> …I’m gonna write me some music about
> Daybreak in Alabama….
>
> Shall I think of “I’m gonna write” as being equivalent to “I will write,” thus considering “[a]m gonna” as an auxiliary to “write”?
>
> Or shall I think of “I’m gonna write” as being equivalent to “I am going to write,” thus considering “to write…” an adverbial infinitive phrase?
>
> I would love to read some discussion on this clause and to be able to share it with my students afterward.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Glenda Conway
> Professor, English
> Coordinator, Harbert Writing Center
> Department of English and Foreign Languages
> Station 6420
> University of Montevallo
> Montevallo, AL 35115
> 205 665-6425 office
> 206 665-6422 fax
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
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