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Geoyo Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

Usage of 'them' instead of 'those'

I learned of this non-standard use of the word 'them' lately, as in:

"Let's eat them burgers"

I like this a lot, it's funny. Now my question is, what kind of people usually say it? Old people, young people, certain subcultures, races, etc.? Is it considered old-fashioned? I remember it being used a lot in country songs, is it something people from the countryside use often? Is it used in AmE or BrE? In what situations is it considered appropriate? Do you use it yourself?
  

Top answer

It is informally common. It may have started in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), but it has spread into the general population.

— AlpheccaStars

  • It is informally common.
  • It may have started in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), but it has spread into the general population.
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13 Answers
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It is informally common. It may have started in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), but it has spread into the general population.
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geoyoI like this a lot, it's funny.
I like the German football team a lot. They are intense and focused.
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That is very interesting, I didn't know that. Do you use it yourself, AlpheccaStars? If it originates from African-Americans, isn't it considered strange when a white person uses it?
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geoyoisn't it considered strange when a white person uses it?
Nope. Not in informal situations. I remember this little ditty from childhood.

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That is very cute Emotion: smile
I noticed they even used 'dem' instead of 'them'. Isn't that even more of a thing a black person would do? Be
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geoyoI noticed they even used 'dem' instead of 'them'. Isn't that even more of a thing a black person would do?
It originated in the eye dialect used by Joel Chandler Harris, a Southern writer in the late 1800s. The Uncle Remus stories were very popular. They were read to children, used by Walt Disney in cartoons. Nowadays, they are probably considered politi
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That is very interesting, I didn't know. Thank you AlpheccaStars. It's very hard to understand for me, though. I have to guess a lot of the meanings. It reminds me of a day in school when we read a story written by an African-American slave. He didn't learn English in school so he taught it by himself. The language he used was similar to this.
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geoyo I learned of this non-standard use of the word 'them' lately, as in:"Let's eat them burgers"I like this a lot, it's funny. Now my question is, what kind of people usually say it? Old people, young people, certain subcultures, races, etc.? Is it considered old-fashioned? I remember it being used a lot in country songs, is it something people from the countryside use
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GPYIt is used in the UK in uneducated speech and in certain dialects. I don't get the feeling that the UK usage is an import from the US or originates in African-American speech. ...
From my personal experience growing up in the Midwest of the US, I would have to agree. I knew a woman born in the early 1900s in the US whose ancestors were all from the UK. Sh
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Interesting... I wouldn't have thought it is used in the UK too, it sounds like an AmE thing to my ears. GPY and CalifJim do you use this expression yourselves?
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