[HPforGrownups] Re: OT--dialects ("fixin' to")

[Amanda Lewanski]

No: HPFGUIDX 9151

nlpnt at yahoo.com wrote:

>  BTW, could you use "used to could" in a sentence? I'm curious how
> it's used as I've only heard it in a Jeff Foxworthy routine.

*ahem*
scene: Christmas Eve party

"Y'all should probably put your drinks up on the mantel--the baby's
fixin' to get into them. Before he could stand up, we used to could put
them on the table, but now we have to make sure they're out of his
reach."

Actually came out of my mouth. Clearly, I do a fair bit of code-switching
myself, because I can carry on educated conversations, too. We did a
linguistics experiment once, verifying that people use "-ing" more often
in stressed or prestige situations, and "-in'" when they're relaxed or
among friends. Same thing with laid-back Texas usages. I'm not really all
that bad--I worked for a lawyer in Austin once, who taught me, among
other things, that "Mexican" and "shit" are both two-syllable words. Lots
of great, disappearing regionalisms, too, like "so dry the fish have
ticks" and "can't find his a** with both hands" (for emphasis, add "and a
map").

--Amanda