Date:  Wed, 5 Nov 1997 08:48:29 -0600
From:  Bonnie Briggs <BBRIGGS[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ADMIN2.MEMPHIS.EDU>
Subject: Re: "it's all good"

I've heard this expression all of my life. It was common to here someone say
something like "You were wrong from the git-go." It was usually used to mean
"from the beginning". It is probably more a product of Southern
English than what people refer to as Ebonics.


Bonnie Briggs
The University of Memphis



> 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.
> > >
> > >
> >