The 'uh' sound sometimes before present participles

[snailboy]

I’m not sure how it should be spelled, if it even has an official spelling, but i’m going to type it as “a”, since that what it sounds like. It’s mostly done by very rural southerners (ie, country folk). For instance, there’s the old country song by John Anderson where he sings about Little Charlotte and himself “just a swingin’”. I’m simply curious where this evolved from, and how long it’s been going on. I know German adds a ge- prefix before certain verb conjugations (I don’t remember which; I think the past participle) so I figured they or someone else may have an a- prefix that we adopted. Also, does it happen in any English-speaking countries other than the states?

[RealityChuck]

The OED use that seems to fit is that it’s the particle of the verb, used primarily with the past participle but with other parts of the verb, too. It says the construction is related to the German “ge-” usage. First cite seems to be around 1270.

@OED

prefixed to the pa. pple. and occasionally to other parts of the verb, = earlier e- [Ger. ge-, Goth. ga-, together, altogether, completely], which in OE. was sparingly used as a prefix to the pple. (more commonly making a compound verb), but in 2-4 became, as e-, y-, i-, the regular sign of the pa. pple. in the south, as y-come, i-don, i-sen, y-ben, i-ben, i-be, etc. The toneless () afterwards sank into (), as it is still pronounced in the south-western dialects, and was frequently written a distinct, or a- joined, in 14-16th c. As many verbs had also a derivative form in a- in OE. (as wake awake, rise arise), and many others were formed after them in ME., it is not always easy to say whether a pa. pple. in a- is to be referred to the simple verb, or to a derivative verb in a-, of which no other part is known. So in mod.G. ge-standen may be pa. pple. of stehen, or of ge-stehen. See I-, Y-.

c1270 Owl & Night. 1602, Ah thu me havest sore i-gramed That min heorte is wel neh a-lamed. c1400 Tundale’s Vis. 700 Then seyd Tundale ablissyd be thou. 1458 Domest. Arch. (Abingdon MS.) III. 42 Chees & chekenes clerelych a dyght. 1684 BUNYAN Pilg. II. 70 The Highways have a been un-occupied heretofore. 1859 W. BARNES Hwomely Rhymes (Dorset dial.) 61 An’ we have all a-left the spot, To teäke, a-scatter’d, each his lot.

[Mathochist]

@RealityChuck

It says the construction is related to the German “ge-” usage.

And, oddly enough, that’s how i thought of “ge-” when I had to teach myself just enough German to pass my quals.

[Johanna]

The American Heritage Dictionary has a different explanation: The a- verbal prefix heard in highland areas of the U.S. South and Southwest is a contraction of on. Related to noun constructions where it means 1. ‘on, in’: abed - 2. ‘in the act of’: aborning - 3. ‘in the direction of’: astern - 4. ‘in a specified state or condition’: abuzz. About the verbal prefix in dialect, it explains

Such verb forms derive from an Old English construction in which a preposition, usually on, was placed in front of a verbal noun … to indicate that the action was extended or ongoing.

[snailboy]

@Johanna

The American Heritage Dictionary has a different explanation: The a- verbal prefix heard in highland areas of the U.S. South and Southwest is a contraction of on. Related to noun constructions where it means 1. ‘on, in’: abed - 2. ‘in the act of’: aborning - 3. ‘in the direction of’: astern - 4. ‘in a specified state or condition’: abuzz. About the verbal prefix in dialect, it explains

Honestly, I think your definition is more fitting for what I was thinking than RealityChuck’s. His lists arise and awaken as examples, which aren’t the same as what I’m talking about. I can think of some examples where the “a” would be interchangeable with “on,” although not all, such as the example I listed in the original post. They are nevertheless ongoing processes.

[snailboy]

I meant to bold RealityChuck’s name, not italicize it.

[CJJ]

@snailboy

Honestly, I think your definition is more fitting for what I was thinking than RealityChuck’s. His lists arise and awaken as examples, which aren’t the same as what I’m talking about. I can think of some examples where the “a” would be interchangeable with “on,” although not all, such as the example I listed in the original post. They are nevertheless ongoing processes.

I agree; the usage is clearly seen, I think, in the title of the Bob Dylan song The Times they Are A-changin’