Double Copula

[lucy black]

There are not many English "grammar controversies" currently listed on Wikipedia, but the following is one of them. It has passed me by - did somebody enter this as a joke


The double copula, also known as the double is, is the usage in the English language of two successive copulas when only one is necessary. For example:

My point is is that...
This should not be confused with legitimate usages of two successive copulas, such as:

What my point is is that...
In the latter sentence, "What my point is" is a dependent clause, and functions as a subject. In the former sentence, "My point" is a complete subject, and requires only one copula.

The term double is, though commonly used to describe this practice, is somewhat inaccurate, since other forms of the word (e.g. "was", "were") can be used in the same manner.

According to the third edition of Fowler's Modern English Usage (as revised by Robert Burchfield), the double copula originated around 1971 in the United States, and had spread to the United Kingdom by 1987.

[lolwhites]

I can't see how it's different from What he said was... or What I think is... except that in the "double copula" the verb in the dependent clause is the same, which makes it look a bit odd at first glance.

[MrPedantic]

I often hear the double "is" in BrE – especially in radio interviews, e.g.

1. My point is, is that the government promised a referendum in its election manifesto, etc., etc.

The "normal" version would be:

2. My point is that the government promised a referendum in its election manifesto, etc., etc.

But when a speaker dips and pauses after the first "is", there seems to be a need to restart with another "is" – as if the connection between the two parts of the statement is otherwise insufficiently clear or strong.

I think this may be slightly different from "What he said was", where the phrase "what he said" is the subject of the following verb:

3. What he said was that the government promised a referendum...

In #1, there is no complement for the first "is"; or to put it another way, no subject for the second "is" (hence its oddity).

Best wishes,

MrP

[lucy black]

If it refers to what Mr.Pedantic says then it doesn't seem very remarkable (or "controversial"). Perhaps if you made a very strong emphasis of any kind of common phrase at the start of a stretch of spoken English, it would sound natural to repeat some of it in a more measured tone (if it connected fluently with the following sentence)?

e.g I REALLY THINK, think you should look at the facts.

[MrPedantic]

Hello Lucy,

Interestingly, the repeated verb is almost always "is", after certain introductory phrases, e.g. "The thing is", "The problem is", "The curious thing is".

It can therefore be distinguished from repetition due to hesitation, as in e.g.

1. Mr Ojul is, um, is leading an LRA delegation in a visit to northern Uganda.

Best wishes,

MrP

[lucy black]

So the initial "my point is" is not followed by a hesitation or break of any kind?

That does sound odd

[MrPedantic]

Sorry, I was unclear: there is a pause, but with exactly the same break and intonation as when no double copula is present.

(I'm not sure how to describe the characteristic intonation; but it indicates "focus carefully on what is to follow!")

MrP

[/i]

[JuanTwoThree]

Isn't it just the rhetorical device of repeating for effect? If it's not a stutter or a hesitation but something done on purpose then:

"My point is is the government promised......."

is no different from

"I will never never mention it again"

even though "is is" is perhaps more incongruous.


I also agree agree that there is is a pause but but I wouldn't know how how to punctuate it.

Something different seems to be a general tendency to avoid traditional indirect speech and embeddded questions . So, along with "I'm like "You're joking" and he's like "I'm not" I notice on the net:

"What I want to know is, is this right?"

[fluffyhamster]

I came across this right at the start of Barry Sears' The 7-day Zone diet:

.....Even with this growing recognition, the Zone remains misunderstood by many. Some think of the Zone as a high-protein diet, which it is not. Many more consider the Zone too difficult to follow, which it is not. What the Zone is a powerful, yet simple to use dietary program that will allow you to lose excess body fat, explain grammar effortlessly, reduce the likelihood of chronic disease, and enable you to live a longer and better life. .....

WTF! Stylistic slip and/or proofreading error? Whatever, the "double copula" seems needed there - that, or a rewrite (but that could affect the intended and almost-achieved current emphasis in the sentence).

Oh, and being one of the most muscular silverbacks now around, I am obviously only interested in the book's linguisticy stuff rather than the Zone itself.

[MrPedantic]

For those who may not be quite sure how this "is, is" sounds, at least one example of the double copula turned up on the most recent edition of BBC1's Question Time, on this page.

If you click on the "Latest Programme" button, before 6th December, and slide along to 54:00, you can hear MP Caroline Flint say "The fact of the matter is, is that..."

(On the other hand, you probably have much better things to do.)

Best wishes,

MrP