And also, even in an informal situation you could surprise or amuse those you are speaking to since it seems clear that for some people they have never heard anyone use "brang" and they would probably assume it was a genuine mistake. The use of "brang" in Neil Diamond's song mentioned above is the only time I can recall hearing it myself.
bring - brang - brung :)
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My daughter and I were wondering if brung was a word because we both use it. We also have both used brang. Searching for the answer brought us to this thread. Mark us down as two contemporary, mass media exposed, big readers that use brang and brung. We'll try to correct it now.
I'm college educated and she is top of her 5th grade class though neither of us are english linguists. We're both Arizona natives so maybe it is a southern or western thing.
As far as the original question, when using brung or brang, I think I have a thought not unusual to me - "I may not be using english correctly here"
I'm college educated and she is top of her 5th grade class though neither of us are english linguists. We're both Arizona natives so maybe it is a southern or western thing.
As far as the original question, when using brung or brang, I think I have a thought not unusual to me - "I may not be using english correctly here"
Why try to "correct" it? As you say, your use of brung may be part of a regional Arizona variety. Everybody understands you, right? So why try to talk like the knuckle-rappers want you to?
What about in writing--do you use brung there? Written English is slower to adopt new forms, and my guess is that brung in written English would stand out as an oddity. I'd suggest not using it in writing.
Listen to other Arizonans? Arizonians? around you for a few weeks -- do they use brung? Do NOT ask them what they use, because the focus on the word form itself can change their responses. Instead, just listen; post back when your research is done!
Lady Dungeness
This is assuming that she only speaks to other Arizona natives, LD. In this interconnected world today, how likely is that?
Although it's fine for casual speech, I certainly wouldn't want to pop out with it in a job interview, a customer service call at work, or a business presentation.
You speak as if it would not be unusual in any spoken setting. I strongly disagree.
You have a good point. I agree that brung should not be used in formal speech.
Do you really not understand what brung means?
Do you mean to suggest also that all English speakers should use only those words and phrases that every other English speaker believes is correct? If this is your intent, I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle -- there are many varieties of English, and always will be. Perhaps even your own preferred variety of English has words and phrases that other native English speakers might not be used to.
Lady Dungeness
Do you really not understand what brung means?
Do you mean to suggest also that all English speakers should use only those words and phrases that every other English speaker believes is correct? If this is your intent, I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle -- there are many varieties of English, and always will be. Perhaps even your own preferred variety of English has words and phrases that other native English speakers might not be used to.
Lady Dungeness
But you sound as though you are trying to knuckle-rap us into using the word.
Do you really not understand all the other things, over and besides the meaning of "bring" in the past tense, that the use of "brung" can mean to the hearer?
Whether you like it or not (and all the indignant huffing in the world on your part will not change it), there are millions of people who, upon hearing a speaker used "brung" as a past tense for "bring", will immediately have a lower estimation of that person's education, and possibly of the person's abilities. Now, if one wants to strike a blow for perfect freedom of expression everywhere at all times, one can continue to say "brung" without compromise, just as one can say "he ain't", or use "gooder" as the comparative form of "good". Nevertheless, such a person should not be too surprised when this free-spirited usage contributes adversely to a job interview or in a letter of application sent by the user.
And to get back to the topic of the thread, I never use brang or brung naturally and without thinking about it, but only deliberately and for comic effect.
Please re-read my posts. I support the use of brung in spoken English; The user should know that brung belongs to a variety of English and is not accepted as correct across all varieties; I do not support using brung in formal speech or in writing.
I do not support the imputation of "being uneducated" to the speaker. I do support explaining the meaning of words, along with their nuances and what they convey in different contexts.
I'm sorry if you want to label certain language as "uneducated". If the language is used by native speakers, then it is in fact language, and warrants a contextual explanation instead of a pejorative.
Lady Dungeness
Absolutely, just as I understand "gotted", "heared", "axed (for asked)" and many other variations. Did I say I didn't?
Wow! That's quite a leap. Where you got this interpretation from what I said is beyond me. What a strange conclusion to draw from what I said.
Please explain, then:
I don't think you've ever heard gotted from a native English speaker. getted from a child, perhaps, but not gotted.
heared -- also sounds like a child overgeneralizing the past tense ending to all verbs
aksed -- this pronunciation was once standard in an earlier form of English. It is again standard in some dialects of English. And no, I will never correct anybody who choses that pronunciation.
If you do some digging, you'll find that /sk/ and /ks/ have an uncanny habit of changing places.
Lady Dungeness
I don't think you've ever heard gotted from a native English speaker. getted from a child, perhaps, but not gotted.
heared -- also sounds like a child overgeneralizing the past tense ending to all verbs
aksed -- this pronunciation was once standard in an earlier form of English. It is again standard in some dialects of English. And no, I will never correct anybody who choses that pronunciation.
If you do some digging, you'll find that /sk/ and /ks/ have an uncanny habit of changing places.
Lady Dungeness
This thread has been round the bring, brang, brung loop several times.
It is now in danger of wandering off into a general discussion on various atypical usages. That would be absolutely dreadful, so I have closed the thread.
I think an intelligent reader will be able to glean from the thread, as it stands, a useful perspective on bring, brang, brung.
So, with thanks to MrMagoo, who first bringed this topic to our attention, AlonYo who dugged it up in March last year, and brad243, who brunged it to the fore this time, I think it's time to put it away for a while.
Future generations wishing to resurrect the topic are welcome to propose so to the moderators of the time.
It is now in danger of wandering off into a general discussion on various atypical usages. That would be absolutely dreadful, so I have closed the thread.
I think an intelligent reader will be able to glean from the thread, as it stands, a useful perspective on bring, brang, brung.
So, with thanks to MrMagoo, who first bringed this topic to our attention, AlonYo who dugged it up in March last year, and brad243, who brunged it to the fore this time, I think it's time to put it away for a while.
Future generations wishing to resurrect the topic are welcome to propose so to the moderators of the time.
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