LINGUIST List 3.29

Mon 13 Jan 1992

Disc: Is, is

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. David G Nash, 3.10 is is
2. jack, is, is
3. "Michael Kac", Re: 3.10 Queries: Smileys, Speech Recognition, Biblical, Is
4. Herb Stahlke, Re: 3.18 Is, is
5. Geoffrey Russom, Re: 3.18 Is, is
6. , is, is

With respect to Lee Hartman's query, see:

McConvell, Patrick. 1988. To be or double be? Current changes in
the English copula. _Australian Journal of Linguistics_ 8,287-305.

The author's e-address is mcconvell_pdarwin.ntu.edu.au

-DGN

Andy Griffith got his first renown (outside of Chapel Hill) with a record
back in the mid-fifties entitled, "What it was, was football!"

Message 3: Re: 3.10 Queries: Smileys, Speech Recognition, Biblical, Is

I can give a partial answer to Lee Hartman's question about 'is is'. I first
encountered it in the late '70's or early '80's in a short-lived TV show
called Richie Brockelman, Private Eye (or something like that -- I know the
Richie Brockelman part is right), a spinoff from The Rockford Files. Richie
Brockelman is this 20-ish college-educated (USC, I think) LA fratboy type
one of whose mannerisms was to be constantly saying 'Well, the thing of it is
is ...' I also have a friend who is a native Philadelphian who does the same
thing. Hope these tidbits prove of some use.

Michael Kac

Message 4: Re: 3.18 Is, is

I've run into a variant of "is is" around here, especially in our
Administration Building (which may be indicate influence of social
class and educational level). What I hear is "The reason being, is we
can't afford it" where the comma indicates a significant pause
accompanied by and a knowing glance. I would expect something like
the eliptical "The reason being (that) we can't afford it."

Herb Stahlke
Ball State University

Message 5: Re: 3.18 Is, is

A pause after "is" in the normal "is that" construction may indeed
play a role in repetition of "is" as a kind of resumptive device.
I noticed as a peculiarity of some relatives' (Delaware
Valley) speech an almost invariant pause in structures like
"The reason is (pause, prominent falling tone) that (pause,
prominent falling tone)..." This may be the structure that invites
the doubling. One sometimes has the sense that the tensed clause
is being composed during the pause after "is" or even after "that".

-- Rick

The fact is, is that no one has yet mentioned Bolinger's
"The remarkable double IS," _English today_ 9 (January 87),
39-40, which, though it is very brief, is chock-full of data
and observations.