We was gonna have some fun

Question

Possible Duplicate:
“You was trouble”?

In the movie "Thelma & Louise", Thelma says:

You said we was gonna have some fun, so let's have some!

So my question is why does she say "was" instead of "were"? Is it meant to indicate something like the woman is illiterate?
And what would people think of me if I talked like that?

Related: “You was trouble”? – Matt E. Эллен Aug 28 '12 at 10:42 — Matt E. Эллен, Aug 28 '12 at 10:42

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 06 '12 at 09:05

4

Yes, the verb is deliberately conjugated wrong, to give the remark a backwoods tone or feel.

backwoods (adj): unsophisticated; uncouth

answered Apr 06 '12 at 09:05

J.R.

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I would say it was conjugated correctly for the dialect in which it occurs. – Barrie England Apr 06 '12 at 09:09
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@BarrieEngland: Okay... interesting viewpoint. Correctness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. :^) – J.R. Apr 06 '12 at 09:21
No, it's in the mouth of the speaker! – Barrie England Apr 06 '12 at 09:47
Or ears of the listener? Eyes of the reader? – J.R. Apr 06 '12 at 09:48
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Or the mind of the linguist. – Barrie England Apr 06 '12 at 10:07
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"Backwoods" is a perfect evocation of the stereotype of poor, uncouth, rural, illiterate speech in American culture. Linguists talk about rather a different version of "Correctness". – John Lawler Apr 06 '12 at 14:22

We was gonna have some fun

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