Waugh: 'M I late?

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Marius Hancu - 07 Jan 2010 10:14 GMT

Hello:

This
"'M I late?"
indicates only a contraction, or also a different pronunciation, as in
"M," as opposed of "am?"

Was it supposedly lower-class?

-----
[Hooper is a lower-class officer, it seems; Ryder has trouble finding
him;]

"I want to speak to Mr Hooper, sergeant-major ... well, where the
devil have you been? I told you to inspect the lines."

"'M I late? Sorry. Had a rush getting my gear together."

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 673
----
--
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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Derek Turner - 07 Jan 2010 10:53 GMT

> Hello:
>
> This
> "'M I late?"
> indicates only a contraction, or also a different pronunciation, as in
> "M," as opposed of "am?"

Both. I mean also.

> Was it supposedly lower-class?

Not really, no. Just a contraction in hurried speech.

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Andrew Taylor - 07 Jan 2010 14:50 GMT

> > Hello:
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Not really, no. Just a contraction in hurried speech.

Hooper seems to stand for everything that Ryder (aka
Waugh) despises in the "modern world", so I suspect
this *is* a dig at his "common" accent. He also uses
the expression "righty-o", to Ryder's annoyance.

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John Dean - 08 Jan 2010 23:40 GMT

>>> Hello:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> this *is* a dig at his "common" accent. He also uses
> the expression "righty-o", to Ryder's annoyance.

Although he says "The troops did not like Hooper ... but I had a feeling
which almost amounted to affection for him."
He notes Hooper's "flat, Midland accent".

Signature

John Dean
Oxford

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Donna Richoux - 07 Jan 2010 21:48 GMT

> Hello:
>
> This
> "'M I late?"
> indicates only a contraction, or also a different pronunciation, as in
> "M," as opposed of "am?"

A contraction always means "a different pronunciation," doesn't it?

I looked up the Google Books text and it shows the marks more clearly
than does the Usenet post -- a single quote mark for dialog, and an
apostrophe that changes "am" to "m".

The only way I can imagine pronoucing "'M I" is like "my".

> "I want to speak to Mr Hooper, sergeant-major ... well, where the
> devil have you been? I told you to inspect the lines."
>
> "'M I late? Sorry. Had a rush getting my gear together."
>
> Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, p. 673

Signature

Best -- Donna Richoux

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Evan Kirshenbaum - 07 Jan 2010 22:15 GMT

>> Hello:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> The only way I can imagine pronoucing "'M I" is like "my".

Think of it as a syllabic /m-/, as in the affirmative /m- hm-/. So
"'m I" would be two syllables, /m- aI/.

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franzi - 07 Jan 2010 22:30 GMT

> >> Hello:
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Think of it as a syllabic /m-/, as in the affirmative /m- hm-/. So
> "'m I" would be two syllables, /m- aI/.

I think that's right, if I understand it correctly. The 'M' is
pronounced with the lips closed; they are then opened in preparation
for the next word 'I', though there's no clear pause between the two
sounds.
--
franzi

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2010

Waugh: 'M I late?