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LINGUIST List 19.542

Fri Feb 15 2008

Qs: 'If/Then' in English Dialects

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        1.    William Davis, 'If/Then' in English Dialects
Message 1: 'If/Then' in English Dialects
Date: 15-Feb-2008
From: William Davis <actorsfaol.com>
Subject: 'If/Then' in English Dialects
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I have a question about "if/then" clauses in early regional dialects of English (American or British). I'm curious to know where and if a dialect or regionalism might have used an "if/and" combination to mean the same thing as "if/then" (i.e., "if you will go, and I will go" meaning "if you will go, then I will go." Or perhaps more biblical sounding things like, "If he commands the water to be stone, and it will be stone" meaning, "if he commands the water to be stone, then it will be stone.").

I know that "and" can mean "then, therefore," but I'm specifically looking for examples I could cite of "if/and" clauses (particularly in northeast America).
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Linguistic Field(s): Semantics
                            Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): English (eng)


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