heh heh -- I didn't spot my typo. that's funny because what inspired the questionin the first place was watching the film "Stigmata," which might involve a person with a fixation on Christ's crucifixion. (although in the film, the young woman who experiences the stigmata is an atheist.)
the thought of "crucifixation" led to another play on the word: an atheist might describe it as "crucifiction."
Nah, he's just been poorly influenced (oh, and watch out - the Looahvul Slugger will point out to you that in KY it's "you-all," not "y'all" )
That's true, actually, and I say you-all more typically than I say y'all. I also occasionally say "you-guys"--hey Kentucky was a border state in the war! But I figured for the sake of comedy it woul dbe better to stick to the more immediately recognizable "y'all." *sigh* you can't please everyone... ;]
Maybe you've been listenin' to Fuzzy Dubya too much! Or maybe you're just one of those proud Bushonics speakers who are now rallying for their linguistic rights! Do you also then believe in the Resurrsuscication?
For two reasons. Firstly, the word 'got' is greatly over-used, and it's not a nice sounding word. Secondly, it's obsolete when you use it after I've. "I have vertiginous persuasions", sounds much better and much more correct than "I've got vertiginous persuasions".
While I would agree get/got can be overused, banning "I've got" seems like a cure that is worse than the disease. There does seem to be some difference in meaning:
I've got a cold -- a single occurrence now. I have a cold (every winter) -- a repeated event.
We've discussed the I've got/I have difference at some time in the past, and concluded that I've got is acceptable in North America, though less so in other English-speaking countries. It's used here, without reservations, all the time.
So rather than condemning it, maybe it would be better to realize that it's one of those regional variations of English.
I've got a cold -- a single occurrence now. I have a cold (every winter) -- a repeated event
And "I've a cold" just sounds riduculous.
Not to mention "Stop the world. I've vertiginous persuasions", which not only *sounds ridiculous but doesn't satisfy the requirements of an expansion of the acronym (and, yes, I *can pronounce it, YCASTWIR).
Regarding the issue of I've got, the use of have as a free standing verb indicating possession conflicts, in this instance, with its function as a periphrastic marker for the past perfect tense, particularly when used in the abbreviated form I've. This conflict requires resolution, which is accomplished with the seemingly redundant use of the synonymous verb got.
Forgive me if I have got this around my neck, but I thought we had previously *gotten around to discussing gotten rather than got. "I have got" and thus "I've got ~" would both be unremarkable Standard English in the UK, I think. What sounds slightly less usual, though a simple little difference, is the typical USnificationalism of "I have gotten ~"
BTW, I like the sound of got - it's hard and forceful and very expressive.
Ohhhh...okay...I didn't really recall all the ins and outs of the discussion...I recall discussing the example of "I've got a cold", and I also vaguely recall some discussion of "gotten" and the apparent awkwardness of this to some people. I guess I sort of lumped "got" and "gotten" together...not an unreasonable mix-up!
"got" is useful in speech, but it is a word that I try to use sparingly in written work. But I am not absolutely certain why. I suppose it sounds "common" - something that was nathema to my family as I grew up. We have the English class-system in full cry, here!
Every one seems to forget the biggest difference in the use of got/gotten -- to USrs, it's "gaht"; to others it's "gawtt" (my best approximation of the Brit short 'o' sound). And of course, the great example of 'I've got', "I've got a little list" (in which 'got' may have been chosen for musical purposes). If it was good enough for G&S, it ought to be good enough for an AWADer.
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