My mother was born on a farm in Cental Mississippi; my father in a small
town in SW GA.  I never heard 'wuz' except in a dialectal joke.  We have
been in the US since the mid-19th century at the latest and are middle- 
class Caucasian.
Had I ever said 'wuz' within the hearing of either parent, I would have
immediately been corrected for 'trash talking.'  'Wahz' would be the eye
dialect for what I heard from my father and from my mother's family and
relatives.

Scott    

Whut it wuz wuz football.  Even in a joke it was "whut"--not 'wut.'
------------------------------

Date:    Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:03:31 -0500
From:    "STAHLKE, HERBERT F" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Who/that; participles/gerunds

"wuz" is an example of what's called "eye dialect," that is, non-standard s=
pelling intended to reflect non-standard dialect pronunciation but that act=
ually represents common pronunciation among all speakers.  We all say "wuz"=
 for <was>, unless there's someone out there who rhymes it with "has."  Joe=
l Chandler Harris is a good example of writing eye-dialect.  Contrast his r=
epresentation of African American English with James Baldwin, who never sto=
ops to such devices but captures the cadence and grammar of AAE beautifully=
.

Herb

Herbert F. W. Stahlke, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of English
Ball State University
Muncie, IN  47306
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