It's interesting to note that in the heat of the Ebonics debate seven years ago, Oprah took a distinctly and strongly anti-Ebonics position, focusing on such shibboleths as "aks" for "ask". I suspect that her AAVE tokens are chosen with some care and especially avoid the more stigmatized ones, like "aks", copula deletion, and habitual "be".
Herb
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of John E. Dews
Sent: Sun 11/14/2004 4:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: this bugs me!
I work with many non-standard dialect students, and I hear this construction quite often. It is more prevalent in some language variety groups than others for sure. I find it an acceptable form in most situations, but I would still consider it to be enough of a deviation from the current standard to be taught to students trying to master Standard English.
I have noticed that over the years Oprah has consistently used certain linguistic features that mark her as a member of different discourse communities (woman, African-American, etc) unashamedly, even when they deviate from Standard. Given that one of her main "mantras" is empowering and valuing the differences that make us human, she doesn't seem to back down from her language usage choices. In other words, I wouldn't look to Oprah for a standard usage.
I, too, have surprisingly heard this construction on the national news. Perhaps it's just me -- often when they use it, the context/situation makes it sound less obtrusive. I don't know if that makes sense, but sometimes when the news anchor says it, I don't think I would notice it if I wasn't the kind of person that always listens closely to words. There may be more to the pragmatics of it than one assumes.
John Dews
University of Alabama
Christine Gray <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Herb and Don, thank you for your responses.
I know the problem, the sentence parts and functions, and the correction.
My question is whether this error is becoming acceptable.
I've heard it on the national news and on Oprah.
Christen in Baltimore
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Stahlke, Herbert F.W.
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 2:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: this bugs me!
Paul has the translation right; it's a dialect variant of "She asked me if I
had the book." This is a fairly well-studied feature of some non-standard
dialects. Standard English allows subject-verb inversion only in main
clauses, as in "Do you have the book?" In indirect questions SE uses a
subordinating conjunction without inve! rsion. Non-standard dialects, on the
other hand, invert in both main and subordinate clauses. This, like the
prepositions problem, is something students have to master in school if they
don't come to school with it and if they are to become competent in Standard
English.
Herb
________________________________
I wouldn't mind it if it were written like this:
"She asked me if I had the book." Nor would this bother me: "She asked me,
'Do you have the book?'." But the way your student wrote it is definitely
ugly! It's actually incorrect, becuase she couldn't have asked, "Did I have
the book?" unless she wasn't sure of what she, herself, had.
I don't know that I'm being clear, here. The problem is between "I" versus
"you" in the question "she asked."
Paul E. Doniger
Christine Gray wrote:
Does this bother anyone on the list:
"She asked me did I have the book?"
Is this construction now accepted as being all right?
Christine in Baltimore
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John (Jed) E. Dews
Instructor, Undergraduate Linguistics
MA-TESOL Program
English Department
University of Alabama
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