Date:  Thu, 11 Apr 1996 11:46:02 -0400

From:  Ronald Butters <amspeech[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ACPUB.DUKE.EDU>

Subject: Re: word-eating virus!



On Thu, 11 Apr 1996, M. Lynne Murphy wrote:



"I am being have [hejv]" was reported years ago as a child-language

acquistion reanalysis (maybe by Charles Hockett in his COURSE IN MODERN

LINGUISTICS [c.1958]?), but this is the first adult usge I've ever heard

reported. Seems highly unlikely to me from a nonironic adult, but I don't

doubt that Ms. Murphy heard what she heard.



Anybody else ever heard this from an adult anywhere else in the world? Or "I

am being ware"? (To me, "being ware" seems pragmatically unlikely, like, "I am

lurking in the park!")



> look out! this virus seems to spontaneously reanalyse words! > >

> > WARNING!!!!! Read the following and take note for those of you who

> > access

> > the web and ftp sites. . . BE WARE!!!

>

> i'm being as ware as i can!

>

> this reminds me of the time i overheard on a bus: "if you kids

> don't start being have, you won't get any treats at grandma's."

> (of course, when i tell this story to my students here, they roll

> their eyes as if to say, 'those americans shouldn't be allowed to

> talk at all.'

>

> lynne

>

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------

> M. Lynne Murphy              104lyn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muse.arts.wits.ac.za

> Department of Linguistics            phone: 27(11)716-2340

> University of the Witwatersrand          fax: 27(11)716-8030

> Johannesburg 2050

> SOUTH AFRICA

>