In some Country songs, “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton is one example, she sings about the kids at school “a makin fun of me”. I’ve also heard the phrase “I’m a fixin to go to town”.
I’m wondering where that use of “A” comes from? Any explanation? And are there any other unusual or similar phrasings?
It’s a typically Appalachian dialect:
https://ygdp.yale.edu/phenomena/a-prefixing
It comes from Middle English a- and y-, first attested prior to 1150 but as @beowulff says it is essentially archaic or dialectical today as a productive prefix— the times they are a-changing.
Of course, like everything after Shakespeare, it came from Bob Dylan:
ETA: damned, ninja’d by @DPRK .
Just my wag is that it comes from the same particle that appears as ge- in most German past participles.
In Old English, verbs seem to have been divided into classes from strong to weak. No one is entirely sure exactly how this translates to Middle English, though, because there aren’t enough examples of Old English text.
It seems from the Middle English available that the y- prefix had been earlier applied to the past participles of strong verbs, but was mostly falling out of use. Chaucer uses it, and seems to have a preference for using it for passive-voice verbs, but mainly seems to use it when he needs it to fill out his meter. Not kidding.
So, maybe the a+verb is something that is or was dialectical, but Parton specifically may use it to fill out a meter. Or if she associates it with a place or generation, then maybe it creates a character in her mind who is narrating the song.
In this particular song, is it “a makin’ fun of me” or “an’ makin’ fun of me”?
(The line is a few seconds to the point I should have linked to.)
The question is still valid for other songs, of course.
Seems to specify verbs as a present action. “I’m a-goin’ to the store” would be used while you are on the way but not to indicate you’ll go the store later in the day. Thus “I’m a-fixin’ to go to the store.”
I’m remembering a very recent thread in which the “a” prefix was discussed but I can’t figure out how to search for it. Searching for “prefix” gives no hits with that context, but I distinctly remember it.
Perhaps this one. I located it by searching for “a-fixin”.
Thank you all for the responses. I feel much smarter now. I live in eastern Missouri, but don’t normally hear the A something in the wild so to speak.
That’s actually a much better thread. The one I was thinking of started with someone asking whether “an” as in “an-eating” was similarly used. The answer was basically, it may have happened but it would be very rare.