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"Might Could" in English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Johntm Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5422 days ago 616 posts - 725 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 1 of 24 25 March 2010 at 5:52am | IP Logged | ||
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Alright, I'm aware I'm a native English speaker, no need to tell me, but I have a question for y'all (specifically non-Southern Americans).
My Economics teacher (native German, knows English as well as a native) today said the saying "might could" as in "You might could catch the bus in time" is Southern slang and that it made no sense to me. It makes perfect sense to me (although I can't really explain it :\), but I was wondering if other non-Southerns used this phrase or if it even made sense to them. Thanks guys. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| oz-hestekræfte Senior Member Australia Joined 5678 days ago 103 posts - 117 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Danish | Message 2 of 24 25 March 2010 at 8:59am | IP Logged | ||
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Reminds me of Jeff Foxworthy.
"Can you Dance?" "Well I used to could, and if you give me a minute I might could again." Stangely it only makes sence to me if I hear it or read it in my head with a southern drawl!. I assume that "could" in this situation = "be able to" (EDIT I remembered more of the Jeff Foxworthy sketch) Edited by oz-hestekræfte on 25 March 2010 at 9:17am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| doviende Diglot Senior Member Canada languagefixatio Joined 5986 days ago 533 posts - 1245 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Hindi, Swedish, Portuguese | Message 3 of 24 25 March 2010 at 9:06am | IP Logged | ||
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I've never seen or heard this sort of "might could" phrase. I'm from urban Vancouver, and speak pretty much the same thing as much of urban Canada and northern USA (typical newscaster / tv dialect).
I would say something like "you might be able to catch the bus in time", or "you could probably catch the bus in time". Your phrase sounds like a great shortening of this, but I think if I said it to someone here then they wouldn't immediately understand the meaning. I can understand it in written form, but if someone said it to me verbally then I'd probably go "huh?" 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5556 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 4 of 24 25 March 2010 at 10:44am | IP Logged | ||
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This is an example of a double modal verb which is sometimes used in Southern American English. I imagine it probably originated from "might...could", or perhaps "might, could", where the comma or pause ended up being dropped sometimes in conversation. I can't say I've ever heard the phrase in person, and it would sound very ungrammatical in UK (being replaced with "might be able to" or "could maybe" or even simply "might" or "could" instead), but I did come across it in the film "No Country for Old Men":
"...The airport is El Paso. You want some place specific you might could be better off just drivin' to Dallas. Not have to connect." [source: The Weekly Script] Here are some further examples I just found on the Internet. Edited by Teango on 25 March 2010 at 10:58am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Iris-Way Newbie United States Joined 5576 days ago 22 posts - 24 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 5 of 24 25 March 2010 at 11:52am | IP Logged | ||
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Well I'm from the Philadelphhia area and I have never heard that term used.
To me, it just sounds awkward and if I ever talked to you or someone who said it I'd probably correct you on it. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cainntear Pentaglot Senior Member Scotland linguafrankly.blogsp Joined 6011 days ago 4399 posts - 7687 votes Speaks: Lowland Scots, English*, French, Spanish, Scottish Gaelic Studies: Catalan, Italian, German, Irish, Welsh | Message 6 of 24 25 March 2010 at 12:30pm | IP Logged | ||
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Even though double modals are traditionally a feature of Scots, the education system has pretty effectively eliminate them through judicious application of the belt (it was never a cane in Scotland) and the term "bad English".
The most common double modal is "will can", but even that's getting rarer and rarer. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| minus273 Triglot Senior Member France Joined 5765 days ago 288 posts - 346 votes Speaks: Mandarin*, EnglishC2, French Studies: Ancient Greek, Tibetan | Message 7 of 24 25 March 2010 at 1:59pm | IP Logged | ||
How sad. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| peregrina Newbie Scotland Joined 5358 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Latin, Russian | Message 8 of 24 25 March 2010 at 3:08pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you for demonstrating this construction,johntm.
As an English person, resident in Scotland, I have never come across it before. Who was it who spoke of "two nations divided by a common language"? 1 person has voted this message useful |
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