Positive anymore
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Positive anymore is the use of the adverb anymore in an affirmative context.[1] While any more is typically a negative/interrogative polarity item used in negative, interrogative, or hypothetical contexts, speakers of some dialects of English use it in positive or affirmative contexts,[notes 1] with a meaning similar to nowadays or from now on.[1]
Positive anymore occurs in some varieties of North American English, especially in the Midlands variety spoken in parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, and Missouri; its usage extends to Utah and some other western U.S. states.[2]
Positive anymore also occurs in parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland.[3]
Some linguists theorize that the North American usage derives from Irish or Scots-Irish sources.[4][5]
Examples
The following examples illustrate the use of positive anymore in Irish or American English speech, as recorded by lexicographers or sociolinguists.
- "A servant being instructed how to act, will answer 'I will do it any more'." (Northern Ireland, c. 1898)[6]
- "Any more, the difference between a white collar worker and a blue collar worker is simply a matter of shirt preference." (Madison, Wisconsin, 1973)[1]
- "Everything we do anymore seems to have been done in a big hurry." (Kingston, Ontario, 1979)[1]
- "I'll be getting six or seven days' holiday anymore." (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1981)[3]
- "Anymore we watch videos rather than go to the movies." (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, c. 1991)[7]
Notes
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