Date: Fri, 3 Feb 1995 06:03:00 EDT

From: "David A. Johns" DJOHNS[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UFPINE.BITNET

Subject: "and them"



[[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nEm] is pretty common here in South Georgia, and it's not restricted

to 'Mama ____'. In fact, it seems to parallel the 'y'all' which means

'you and your normal group'. I hear it most often among students to

define cliques, as in 'Donny [[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nEm]' for 'Donny and the crowd he hangs

around with'.



Speakers seem to be aware of the construction as stigmatized -- i.e.,

they joke about it in the same way that they joke about the 'done'

past tense, even though they use both forms freely.



The loss of [D] in 'them' may be related to its loss in some

expressions involving 'there', especially 'right there' -- [r&:?er].



David Johns

Waycross College

Waycross, GA