Re: Ass metonymy (WAS: a bad essay)
| From: | Sai Emrys <saizai@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Saturday, February 7, 2009, 9:35 |
|---|
On Fri, Feb 6, 2009 at 10:13 PM, Paul Kershaw <ptkershaw@...> wrote:
> I question your use of "even." Ass can be used as a subject in SAE: "Some ass
> just called me. Stupid pranks."
IMO though this is a very distinct use of 'ass' - it's the old use
(i.e. jackass, an annoying person); not the AAVE use (i.e. metonymic
buttocks for the person).
> 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. ;)
Indeed. All of which fit my theory that it generally is incompatible
with agentivity.
E.g. I really doubt you'll ever see "my ass is about to beat yo ass".
That's always "I'm 'bout to beat yo ass" - no subject metonomy.
- Sai
Reply