The origins of the dropping the "s" in plurals by American blacks has its origins in Gullah, a patois (or language, depending on your view) derived from the native African dialects of the people who were enslaved. Gullah does not decline the noun to form a plural, I am told. Gullah also does not emphasize terminal consonsants since the dialects it comes from use words made up of syllables that consist of consonants followed by vowels; they do not use syllables that end in consonants. Cultural identity forces probably lead people today to emphasize this.
Charleston is blessed by the presence of the Avery Institute, now part of the College of Charleston. It is one the leading research and archival facilities in the United States pertaining to the history of blacks in America. Gullah is the native tongue to this day of some of the people on some of the more remote area islands. The Uncle Remus stories (e.g., "Bre'er Rabbit") represent an inaccurate attempt to reproduce this language. The fact that you can understand what is said in the tales indicates that it is not true Gullah. I have heard true Gullah and cannot make out more than a word or two. After listening for awhile I can sometimes get the gist of what is being said but that's about it. However, Gullah speakers and people in that area of Africa can understand each other to some extent. Often, our Piccolo Spoleto festival (last part of May, first part of June each year) features a few performances in Gullah. Librettos in English are generally provided. Afterwards, one can walk several meters and hear a performance of a play written by Shakespeare. Spoleto and its less-expensive Piccolo Spoleto festivals are the highlight of Charleston's cultural celebration, suitable for people of all ages. It was at a Spoleto festival that Giancarlo Menotti (its founder) came and sat on our blanket in Marion Square Park to talk to Sally and me and to our children, who were small at the time. Only later, when I asked why the PBS film crews had filmed it did I find out who he was! I'm the slow sort of person. And our famous Charleston sweetgrass baskets are clearly derived from the baskets made by people in that area of Africa. The slaves brought with them, among other things, a better rice seed, technological know-how to raise rice more efficiently, the seeds and know-how for raising anil and making indigo, and their basket-making styles. The foundation of what is believed to be one of the first windmills in America is only about 500 m from my house. It was designed by the slaves of the plantation. Unfortunately, the Africans' superior knowledge and adaptation* to the climatic conditions here served to prolong that most horrid aspect of our American history. Jim * The genetic allotype that makes these people resistant to malaria is, unfortunately, the same one that causes sickle cell anemia. kilopascal wrote: > > 2001-12-17 > > Funny you mention that about the plural in English. Whenever I'm at a a > cash regisiter operated by a black person, they never seem to use plurals > with dollars or cents either. > > They say four dollar and thirty-two cent. No plural. I always thought that > odd. > > John > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "James R. Frysinger" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, 2001-12-16 20:05 > Subject: [USMA:16664] The euro and the cent > > > I posted something about this some time ago, but perhaps it bears > > repeating. The official guide to the spelling of the euro and the cent > > in the official languages of euroland is available online and the > > information is somewhat surprising to me. > > > > For example, in English one apparently would say "one euro, one hundred > > euro, one cent, one hundred cent". Likewise, one would say "the euro, > > the many euro, the cent, the many cent". In otherwords, the plural form > > does not use the "s" ending one would normally expect in English. Indeed > > there is even a footnote that states: > > This spelling without an "s" may be seen as departing > > from usual English practice for currencies. > > So, > > "The euro is equal to 100 cent." > > "The price for this postcard is 35 cent." > > "The cent is one-hundredth of a euro." > > "The cent in my pocket jingle against each other." > > > > In French, the plurals seem to be formed normally, whether in quantities > > or with the definite article. Likewise in Danish but not in German; > > Dutch seems to differ on practice for quantities as compared to use with > > the definite article. Normally in Spanish and Portugese, but not in > > Italian. Very strange! I wonder if practice on the street will actually > > abide by this practice. The argument seems to parallel the arguments > > sometimes heard about forming plurals of SI units. > > > > The home page for the euro is at > > http://europa.eu.int/euro/html/entry.html > > and if one selects "One Currency for Europe" (the entry point) a menu > > page is presented. On this page, select "Spelling-Sign-Glossary" and a > > shorter menu page is presented. On this page, select "Spelling of the > > words "euro" and "cent" in the official Community languages - to be > > used when drawing up Community Legislative acts" and a pdf file opens. > > Apparently this file cannot be downloaded or, upon opening, saved to > > file. > > > > Jim > > > > -- > > Metric Methods(SM) "Don't be late to metricate!" > > James R. Frysinger, CAMS http://www.metricmethods.com/ > > 10 Captiva Row e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Charleston, SC 29407 phone/FAX: 843.225.6789 > > -- Metric Methods(SM) "Don't be late to metricate!" James R. Frysinger, CAMS http://www.metricmethods.com/ 10 Captiva Row e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Charleston, SC 29407 phone/FAX: 843.225.6789
