Positive Anymore

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hi there. This is Tim Kirko. I’m from Omaha, Nebraska.

Hi, Tim. Welcome from Omaha. What’s going on there in Omaha?

So I had a question about the word anymore.

Because in the Midwest, I’ve heard like it used in kind of a different way than it is conventionally in a more positive sense.

Like usually you would say like we don’t go to Walmart anymore, meaning we used to go to Walmart, but now we don’t.

But in the Midwest, sometimes it’s said, anymore, we go to Target, meaning now we go to Target.

So I guess I’m just kind of wondering where this adaptation of the word came from or why that happens.

You’ve got a good ear because that’s known as positive anymore, and it’s something studied by linguists in the United States.

The best guess that they have is that it came to us from the Irish or the Scots-Irish because it pops up particularly commonly in parts of the country that was settled by the Scots-Irish.

Kentucky, Tennessee. My father in Missouri says it. It shows up in Oklahoma and Ohio and Iowa and quite a few other places like that. It is not altogether that common, though, and it’s not particularly Southern, but you’re right on that, too. It’s mainly Midwestern. Basically, it means nowadays. Anymore, you can’t get a good pizza in this town, meaning nowadays you can’t get a good pizza in this town.

That’s really interesting. Right? Yeah. And where did you hear this? And and I’ve got to say, my father probably said that my whole life, but it wasn’t until I was in my 20s and I started studying language that I noticed it.

So I’m impressed that you noticed it.

My grandparents, who live in eastern Iowa, around Dubuque, they use it occasionally.

But I didn’t notice it either until I was having a conversation with a teacher when I was in high school about the Midwestern dialect.

And he brought up this positive anymore.

And that’s when I started noticing it every once in a while.

There we go.

Then you hear it everywhere, right?

And it’s not gone either.

It’s still the younger generations will still have it.

Well, Tim, I hope that helps.

Yeah, thank you so much.

Yeah, take care now.

Thanks for calling.

Appreciate it.

You too.

Have a good day.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

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