Re: bless (adj)
| From: | Amanda Babcock <ababcock@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, August 24, 2004, 16:36 |
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On Thu, Aug 19, 2004 at 06:10:17PM -0400, Mark J. Reed wrote:
> So here in the southern US we seem to be in the middle of a change that
> I'm not sure how to categorize: the bare word "bless" is acquiring the
> meaning of its participle "blessed" (something that has been blessed).
You mean you haven't run across "can food" yet or any of the others?
(Seen at the grocery store.)
My perception is that AAVE has been moving toward a system in which
the bare verb, used adjectivally, *is* the passive participle. I think
this is a generalization from the consonant-cluster simplification
thing.
Amanda
p.s. I think I've observed this up here in PA; I know I did in MD and
VA.
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