Wu Ting
How would you explain ‘acourse’ in the context? It took hours to get to the A and P. With so many swell things to look at on the way, dogs to be fed, friends to cuff on the shoulder. Blue-black workmen to be stared at as they pick open a trench as long as Pennsylvania Avenue. Where do they come from? “Africa acourse,” was Bull’s Eye’s reply. “From Africa, all that way, just for the job of digging ditches?” “No, you lob. They were slaves first. Before they all got put free by Abe Lincoln. Didn’t you ever hear of the slaves?” “Maybe. But not like these. Mexico didn’t have them.” How would you explain ‘acourse’ in the sentence:“Africa acourse,” was Bull’s Eye’s reply? Does it mean ‘of course’? Thanks!
Mar 13, 2014 1:04 PM
Answers · 4
2
Yes, I believe that Bull Eye means of course in this sentence. The reason for it being "acourse" is that the author could be trying to capture how he speaks, or it could be a typo in the book. Hope this helps!
March 13, 2014
1
Gordon: This is a demonstration of an author's "idiocy". ACOURSE is a misspelling and also a misrepresentation of actual English words. The phrase being referred to is OF COURSE. It means YES. But when some people speak, they slur their speech, and this is what the author is showing. The author thinks there is some benefit in showing that the character speaking slurs his speech. The author could communicate objectively, and simply write OF COURSE to show what his character is saying. Still, look at the confusion the author creates when some Non-Native English Speaker tries to read his book. It is in my opinion, a demonstration of a kind of literary idiocy. It is just as easy to write OF COURSE, which means simply, YES. I don't find coy writing like that on the part of authors, any benefit at all. So now you know. .
March 13, 2014
thanks!
March 14, 2014
Another reviewer took issue with me but I believe that the author of this book uses substandard English to demean the characters. It may not have been intentional but go back over the book and see that it is true.
March 13, 2014
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