As a comment on the widespread use of this phrase--someone been keeping a blog devoted to uses of "a whole nother": http://wholenother.blogspot.com/
The blog's author has written a paper on "a whole nother," too, that is available here: http://weblogs.calvin.edu/weblogs?/language/more/whole_nother_paper/
Beth
Beth Rapp Young
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~byoung
University of Central Florida
Stands For Opportunity
>>> [log in to unmask] 1/2/2006 10:02 PM >>>
Herb,
I am already familiar with thisbit of historical background (although I dodn't know it applied to 'newt'); however, I don't see why my explanation doesn't still apply: The word "whole" is still "infixated" (is that the right word) between the /a/ and the /n/ in "A whole nother" -- unless this expression is much older than I think it is. Does anyone know the origin?
Paul
"Stahlke, Herbert F.W." <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Allison,
As Paul wrote, this is widespread, I'm an Inland Northern speaker from rural SE Michigan, and I use it. However, I disagree with Paul's explanation. Rather, I think it's a nother instance the same process that gave us "adder", "apron", and "nickname" and "newt". Historically, the /n/ of "an" has sometimes associated with a following vowel-initial word, so that a reanalysis occurs and the /n/ shifts to the noun. "Newt" and "eft" have the same etymology. "Nickname" was "ekename" and, like "newt" borrowed the /n/ from "an". With "adder" and "apron" the reverse happened. These words originally had initial /n/, as in "nadder" and "napron". In "another", the /n/ has associated with "other" in the expression "a whole nother", although it doesn't appear elsewhere.
Herb
Allison,
First of all, I don't think that this is particularly Southern -- I've heard it up here in the Northeast and heard and used it when I was living in NYC, too.
Secondly, I think this is probably an example of infixation, with the word whole inserted inside the word another (an other?). It's pretty stinking common (that's a whole nother example). If it is infixation, it seems to me that the apostrophe is redundant. I guess the linguists on the list might be able to confirm or contradict this theory.
Finally, I say that you should feel free to talk as you normally would talk, and damned be the consequences (and the critics!)!
Paul D.
Allison Rose wrote:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
I just wanted to ask for some opinions on something:
"You have a whole 'nother year to work this out."
I've said this all my life, and it's never bothered me until someone pointed out to me the other day that it made me sound "awfully Southern." I have no problem with that, but it made me start thinking about some of the things we say in the South and how and why the language may have evolved that way. "Whole 'nother" is just "another whole" switched around, but how and why did it switch around? Why do we say, "I'll be back prently" when what we mean is, "I'll be back shortly"?
Or I may be the only person who says that; I have no idea. And was I supposed to put commas after "say" and "is"? Thoughts?
- Allison
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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction" (_Twelfth Night_ 3.4.127-128).
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"If this were play'd upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction" (_Twelfth Night_ 3.4.127-128).
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