Date:  Tue, 4 Nov 1997 20:57:52 -0500
From:  "Margaret G. Lee -English" <mlee[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CS.HAMPTONU.EDU>
Subject: Re: "it's all good"

To be true to its African-American/"Ebonics" pronunciation, the phrase is
git-go. Mainstream speakers have tried to "standardize" or correct it by
pronouncing it "get-go."

On Tue, 4 Nov 1997, Emerson, Jessie J wrote:

> Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 09:12:55 -0600
> From: Emerson, Jessie J <jjemerso[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]INGR.COM>
> To: ADS-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UGA.CC.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "it's all good"
>
> The phrase "from the git-go" (get-go?) has been around far longer than
> hip-hop or rap, if that was the implication from Margaret's message.
> The phrase means "from the beginning" and has been used in the South for
> a number of years. I don't know about the origins, and it certainly
> could've originated from the African American community here decades
> ago.
>
> Jessie Emerson
>
>     Margaret Lee wrote:
> > As with much slang that eventually enters mainstream usage, "It's all
> > good" originated in the African American community about four years
> > ago,
> > essentially a product of hip-hop/rap culture. That and "my bad,"
> > "dis," hood," "git-go," "squat," and many other expressions underscore
> > the
> > long rich tradition of the linguistic creativity of African Americans.
> >
> >
>