Date:  Thu, 8 Jun 1995 13:18:54 -0500

From:  "Timothy C. Frazer" <mftcf[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UXA.ECN.BGU.EDU>

Subject: Re: over there--why?



I asked for this information because Chicano English speakers in

Sterling, Illinois routinely refer to Mexico as "over there." I didn't

think any non-hispanics had this usage, but I wanted to be sure.

11 people more or less agreed that "over there" would mean only Europe,

mainly Asia. Tom Clark confirmed what I suspected, that "over there" for

Mexico is a SW usage. Funny thing is, none of my informants have TxMex

ancestry; all are children of Mexican immigrants, presumably learned

ENglish in Illinois.



Tim Frazer