Re: USAGE: double modals (was Re: negativity)

On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 00:58:54 -0600, Thomas R. Wier <trwier@...>
wrote:

>From:    Geoff Horswood <geoffhorswood@...>
>
>> It's like something my Texan wife says that drives me
>> nuts: "I might could have..."  Ack!
>
>Where's your wife from? Double modals such as this are actually
>pretty rare in Texas, compared to the rest of the South, since much
>of Texas was settled by people from the lower Midwest.  I myself
>don't use it, and don't recall ever hearing another Texan use it,
>but the more I think about it, the more it makes practical sense to
>me:  three syllables less than "I might be able to have".
>
She was born and spent the first 7 or so years of her life in and around
Tyler, then moved to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.

It might come from one of her parents, I suppose- her dad is from Michigan
(but grew up as a missionary kid in Honduras) and her mom* is from Virginia.

I don't know how prevalent it is or where.

*mom:  That's another fun one between my Brit English and her
American.  "Mom" is her mother; "Mum" is mine :)

Geoff