Re: USAGE: Weird dialectal stuff

> Indeed, I constantly saw
> {could of}{should of}{would of}
> even in semi-formal contexts at my previous employer.  Thankfully
> it never turned up (afaik) on company literature or our web-page!
> I get a feeling that this might (very possibly) be the start of
> subjunctive(-like) constructions moving from aux. phrases to
> prepositional verbs in British English.  I dread the day when I start
> seeing {ought of} <G>.  Causes and other symptoms are beyond me
> at the moment, but perhaps it's another possible consideration for
> Terra Novan (which seems to me to be descended from a British
> English pidgin over an American English substrate?)
    Just a note - these "could/would/should of" forms are common in American
English too. Also common, using the apostrophe in plurals without an e: lots of
cats --> lots of cat's. Dog's are furry. and so on.

    Also, I just want to say that the idea of Terra Novan is extremely
interesting. I hope you'll post on the web the end result, or share it with us! I
may have to start using it daily!

    Aidan