My mother loved Lee, but she also loves Washington, and that’s where our primary focus is.
So I have a gorgeous portrait of Washington (not that hideous Stuart thing on the bill/in the WH) in my LR opposite my framed/signed portrait of Man O’War...you know where else my heart lies. ;-)
My husband is from PA - I hope you dropped the horrific grammar of PA. While I’ve always lived here, I never knew until meeting him what twisted bizarre renderings of English were just 100 mi north of us! It’s like White Ebonics.
I mean, “lawn needs cut”; “leave” for “let” and vice-versa - geezie wee. Makes my skin crawl. (I was completely flumoxed when my husband asked “did you leave the dog out?” - totally confused. The dog was clearly inside. Of course I didn’t KEEP her outside. But I had ALLOWED her outside earlier.
GGGaaaaaah!
You nailed it! (We could probably do a whole thread on Pittsburgh-ese). Your description is quite apt: White Ebonics. I've never before seen it characterized in that manner but it's accurate since the speech mannerisms as well as the syntax are anything but standard American English. There are some that find that particular regional dialect and grammar charming. Not me. That's one of the many reasons why I fled the tri-state area and headed back to my real home in Texas. I'll confess that I do like the Tidewater dialect. You probably get some traces of it up your way?
I mean, “lawn needs cut”; “leave” for “let” and vice-versa - geezie wee. Makes my skin crawl. (I was completely flumoxed when my husband asked “did you leave the dog out?” - totally confused. The dog was clearly inside. Of course I didn’t KEEP her outside. But I had ALLOWED her outside earlier.
Well played and that just scratches the surface. That area seems prone to botching verb-subject agreement. "He don't" may be heard elsewhere but it's seemingly part of the Western Pennsylvania DNA. Now be a good wife...and...
Apologies to all for the thread diversion.