Re: Ass metonymy (WAS: a bad essay)
| From: | Paul Kershaw <ptkershaw@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Saturday, February 7, 2009, 6:13 |
|---|
> 2009/2/6 Sai Emrys
>
> > It seems to me that this ass-metonymy is invalid even in AAVE
> > ("African American Vernacular English" - an academic's way to say
> > "ebonics"), though the other instances are.
I question your use of "even." Ass can be used as a subject in SAE: "Some ass
just called me. Stupid pranks." I'm not certain, though, whether that's
metonymy for "ass," metonymy and euphemistic clipping for "asshole" (which is
more common as a subject), or metaphor for ass=donkey=jackass.
I concur that "They ass" as a subject in AAVE seems forced, although it does
occur. A Google search turned up this hit, for instance: "If they caught you
looking at them, they ass would play dead." (Karen Williams, "Harlem on Lock: A
Novel")
By the way, Googling "they ass" with quotes results in a wide array of rather
violent links, asses getting whupped, kicked, capped, and beaten. ;)
-- Paul
Reply