Timeline for Relatively recent instances of foreign language grammar entering standard English usage
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 5, 2023 at 20:44 | comment | added | John Lawler | One version of Topicalization, which involves fronting of objects for emphasis, is sometimes called "Y-Movement" because it was common in Yiddish-influenced Englishes. An example is Egg creams you want, bananas you'll get. | |
| Dec 31, 2022 at 0:24 | history | migrated | from english.stackexchange.com (revisions) | ||
| Dec 30, 2022 at 2:42 | comment | added | Robusto | What about "I will ask this question now"? That is probably the most common usage, and yet it is impossible to work into your NGrams scheme. | |
| Dec 29, 2022 at 20:38 | comment | added | user770884 | That is a fair point. Similarly, another post on the origins of "You want I should" also notes that that phrase may have originated from either German and Yiddish (english.stackexchange.com/questions/478895/…), but argues in favor of Yiddish given the influence of Yiddish on American popular culture. I believe a similar point could be made here. | |
| Dec 29, 2022 at 20:30 | comment | added | Greybeard | Thanks. How would we show it is Yiddish, and not, for example German? "I should be so lucky." is a subjunctive construction common to German and Yiddish, and also earlier forms of English. | |
| Dec 29, 2022 at 20:28 | comment | added | user770884 | "I now will" is one example which came to mind. However, there are other examples which are more easily identifiable as Yiddish-origin grammar. One that is provided in the linked question: "I should be so lucky." In any event, my question was not asking if this phenomenon exists -- I don't think there is any doubt that it does. Rather, I am looking for other examples. This answer, which is just a claim that my specific example is not reflective of the phenomenon, would likely be better placed as a comment. | |
| Dec 29, 2022 at 20:22 | history | answered | Greybeard | CC BY-SA 4.0 |