Entry · catalog no. 1073

steady

/ /ˈstɛd.i/ /STED-ee

adverb · nationwide · 1980s

✓ Verified

Marks an action carried on intensely and without let-up. "They be steady talking" means talking on and on, at length, and probably to somebody's aggravation.

“He steady running his mouth while the man's trying to work.”

Origin & Attribution

Identified and analyzed by John Baugh in "Steady: Progressive Aspect in Black Vernacular English," American Speech, 1984 — one of the clearest demonstrations that African American English carries aspect distinctions Standard English simply lacks.

1980s

Aspect marker in Black Vernacular English

1984

Baugh's Steady analysis published

Region of origin

West

Midwest

N.East

South

The South

nationwide · 1980s

Spoken by

Black vernacular speakers, nationwide

$STEADYThe Record · cultural traction

▲ Steady

46 yrs

ahead of the mainstream

55/100

peak cultural energy

Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.

Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest

First used

1980

in the culture

Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.

Hear it spoken

By region — how it actually sounds

@nolakid

New Orleans, LA

@htxdri

Houston, TX

Contribute your pronunciation

Citations & Sources

■

John Baugh, "Steady: Progressive Aspect in Black Vernacular English," American Speech 59:1 — journal article · 1984

submitted

■

Lisa J. Green, African American English: A Linguistic Introduction — book · 2002

submitted

+ Cite a source