1300: New Modals: finna Jul 2, 2018

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As has been discussed on the blog before, there are certain categories of word which tend themselves easily to the creation of new terms, and others which don't. It is usually easy to make new verbs that become widely used, but some types of verbs, such as modal verbs especially relevant for today are not. These verb include 'would', 'could' and 'might', and have very clear and deep-rooted Germanic links, changing little over time. A new word however, 'finna' is an example of a rare, new modal verb. The origins of the word come from 'fixing to' in African American English as an equivalent to 'going to', and indeed morphed into 'finna' on the same pattern as 'gonna' and 'wanna'.

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