223c. All I’m saying is why don’t you do something? (1953 Saturday Evening
Post [COHA])
d. All I’m saying is , don’t worry about the hundred. (1962 Roth, Letting go
[COHA])
(41) a. All I ’ m saying , I’ll tell you what.” She gave him a sharp glance. (1958
Weidman, Enemy camp [COHA])
b. All I’m saying , the job is beyond him. (1977 Mamet, American buffalo
[books.google.com/ books?isbn=0573640238])
The earliest unequivocal examples of what I’m saying is and of what I’m
saying as comment clauses date from the late twentieth century, with the
exception of one early example:
(42) a. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t organise,” said Wilkins , fi ercely. “ What
I’m sayin’ is , get a man of the working class ” (1894 Ward, Marcella
[CEN])
b. What I ’ m saying is , give me all the details and let me sort it out. (1986
Hillerman, Skinwalkers [COHA])
c. I don’t claim not to. What I ’ m saying is, let’s not worship the institution.
(1990 Rolling Stone [COCA])
d. what I ’ m saying is , has Mr. Baker, for example, or has Mr. Bush, ...[given
any assurances to the government of Syria ...]? (1991 NBC_ Nightline
[COCA])
(43) “So what I ’ m saying, ” Astorina said, “the whole thing goes the pressure they’re
putting.” (1987 Jakes, Heaven and hell [COHA])
Table 7.6 Frequency of all/ what I am/ ’m sayin(g) in a variety of historical corpora
Corpus All I am/ ’m saying/ sayin’ What I am/ ’m saying/ sayin’
CEN 0 24 (1 pseudo- cleft, 1910)
CLMET3.0 0 9 (1 pseudo- cleft, 1870 b )
ARCHER 1 (1 pseudo- cleft, 1975) 3 (1 pseudo- cleft, 1975)
TIME 3 (3 pseudo- cleft, 1934, 1975,
1998)
33 (9 pseudo- clefts, 1958– )ED 0 19
OED- 3 1 (1 pseudo- cleft, 1964) 8 (2 pseudo- clefts, 1974, 1999)
COHA 118 (84 a pseudo- clefts, 1928– ) 602 (135 a pseudo- clefts, 1869– )
a. Search string: All I ’m|am saying|sayin’ or What I ’m|am saying|sayin’ followed within four
words by is (August 17, 2015).
b. The 1870 is not a prototypical pseudo-cleft, but has main verb “concern” rather than “be”.
7.3 (I’m) Just Saying and Related Comment Clauses