🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug6.204626.10278@pony.Ingres.COM> bobm@Ingres.COM (Bob McQueer) writes:
>In <9208061830.AA19739@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>,
>	dated 6 Aug 92 18:31:17 GMT,
>	lucas@WATSON.IBM.COM ("Bruce Lucas") writes:
>
>> Some time ago a character in the TV series "thirtysomething", which was
>> set in Philadelphia, used this construction and was immediately asked by
>> one of the other characters if she came from Pittsburgh.   This tends to
>> support the view that it is used in Pennsylvania but not many other
>> places.
>
>> However, I live in Cumbria in North-west England, and the construction
>> is very widely used there, particularly in West Cumbria.    It strikes me
>> that Pittsburgh is historically a steel town, as is Workington, one of
>> the two chief towns of West Cumbria, where there has long been a shortage
>> of employment and hence emigration.   Could steelworkers from Workington
>> have been among those who set up the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and
>> have taken this particular mode of speech with them?
> 
>> Comments would be appreciated from knowledgeable Pennsylvanians in
>> particular.
>
>I'm originally from rural NW Pa.  I was interested to find out that this
>expression is that regional.  It does sound "natural" to me, and I do tend
>to use it.  I tend to use it in "needs doing", as well, although I would not
>use it in writing.
>
>Both of my parents grew up in a small town in central Pa. which was settled
>mostly by German immigrants.  I expect that any such expressions I picked up
>from them might have been influenced by native German speakers.  I DO know
>that I picked up many colloquialisms (sic) from my mother, and they are very
>German influenced.

I am from the greater Philadelphia area, and this construction SCREAMS
West-PA to me.  I never heard it until I went up to the PSU main campus
(DIRECTLY in the center of PA) and heard it there.

Interestingly enough, someone on the net (I forget which group) once
used this construction, which prompted me to e-mail him and ask if he
was from Pgh; he was and wondered how the hell I knew.

The German-root idea sounds valid, but my area was also settled by
German immigrants (hence Germantown) and this construction is alien to
me. 

Regards,
Janis C.