Date:  Fri, 14 Jul 1995 08:32:21 -0700

From:  Peter McGraw <pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CALVIN.LINFIELD.EDU>

Subject: Re: For "he says", like "he's all" or "he goes" or "he's like" (fwd)



I forwarded Jim Ague's message on this topic to my son for his amusement,

and think his response might interest some on the list. Any comment from

AAVE specialists out there? (Note: the middle school he refers to [in

Yellow Springs, Ohio] was a harmoniously integrated school in which

middle-class black students were a sizeable minority and seemed to be the

trend-setters.)



Peter McGraw

Linfield College

McMinnville, OR



---------- Forwarded message ----------

Date: Thu, 13 Jul 95 22:02:49 PDT

From: Patrick McGraw <pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]theory.caltech.edu>

To: pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]linfield.edu

Subject: Re: For "he says", like "he's all" or "he goes" or "he's like" (fwd)



I suspect these usages are not originally from California, but from Black

English. Especially when I was in Middle School, people would often

follow "He's like" with not just words, but gestures indicating what

someone was doing. The phrase indicates that what follows is an

imitation. "He's all" probably has similar origins-- it can also come

before an adjective or a description, e.g., "He's all pissed 'cause I

didn't invite him." I imagine the usage with a quotation is an extension

of this.