"Them" as a plural definite article

Question

Hey, teachers, leave them kids alone!

Intuitively "them" here sounds like it works like a plural "the".

Which varieties of English is this usage found in? When it occurs, does it encode a semantic difference (sort of a demonstrative, perhaps?), or is it just a drop-in replacement for the usual definite article?

I'm particularly interested in its occurrence (or lack of same) in Southern American dialects. To what extent would (American) listeners classify it as belonging to AAVE?

It's just a different way of saying those, which is the plural of that. They're demonstratives, which are also determiners, like articles; but they're not articles. — John Lawler, Sep 24 '13 at 13:48
@RegDwighт: I've seen the earlier question, but it was mainly about the meaning, rather than the dialect distribution. — hmakholm left over Monica, Sep 24 '13 at 13:59
@JohnLawler: It sounds wrong to represent the Pink Floyd line as "leave those kids alone" -- it's not a particular subgroup of kids the teachers are asked to leave alone, but all kids in general, isn't it? — hmakholm left over Monica, Sep 24 '13 at 14:01
Those kids can mean all kids in general as does them kids. And the substitution of them for those is dialectical, not 'standard' English. (In the sense of 'standard' being not a dialect/ regionalism). — Kris, Sep 24 '13 at 14:58
This issue has been dealt with in at least one earlier question. — Kris, Sep 24 '13 at 14:59
@Kris: If you could point me to one that actually contains an answer to my question (see the bolded part above), I'd be much obliged. — hmakholm left over Monica, Sep 24 '13 at 15:01
I should have, to make my earlier comment complete. But I (we) need to search! Let's see. — Kris, Sep 24 '13 at 15:04
Henning, representing the Pink Floyd line as “Leave those kids alone” isn't wrong at all—it's exactly what it means. Compare the Danish translation: »Lad så de børn være«, not »Lad så børnene være«. — Janus Bahs Jacquet, Sep 25 '13 at 23:17

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 24 '13 at 14:47

3

In British English, it's a nonstandard variant of the standard demonstrative determiner those.

answered Sep 24 '13 at 14:47

Barrie England

140,205

3

I don't think it's any different in American English – Peter Shor Sep 24 '13 at 18:38
Thanks. I sometimes insert that qualification, but never quite sure when it's necessary. – Barrie England Sep 24 '13 at 18:48
"There's gold in them thar hills" is a famous American quote with this nonstandard "them" (it apparently was not said by the person it's usually attributed to, but it's just as American nonetheless). – Peter Shor Apr 03 '14 at 14:43

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 25 '13 at 22:49

It definitely belongs to some English regional dialects, most notably Cockney. But it is not acceptable as 'received English', where 'those' is 'de rigeur'. It is the kind of expression which makes middle-class parents tear their hair out when they hear their children using it.

"Them" as a plural definite article

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