Re: YAEDT? Syntax in dialects of English

Apparently in Hiberno-English "I'm after calling" means "I've just called",
IIRC. That's an interesting contrast.
Eugene

On Sat, Oct 25, 2008 at 11:03 PM, David McCann <david@...>wrote:

> On Fri, 2008-10-24 at 16:04 -0400, Eldin Raigmore wrote:
>
> > Can anyone tell us what some of these major differences in syntax are,
> and
> > which dialects have them, and where they're spoken?
>
> One major difference I see every time I visit an on-line forum is the US
> use of the simple past for the perfect: an opportunity to click on "I
> forgot my password". If I don't remember it then I *have forgotten* it.
> "I forgot my password" only makes sense in the Queen's English in a
> context like "I forgot my password, but luckily I'd written it down".
>
> In Canada, Newfoundland sounds as if it has an interesting dialect,
> judging by Tanya Huff's "Summon the Keeper" (one of the funniest books
> I've read in years): e.g. "I'm after calling 911" for "I'm going to call
> 911".
>

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