I saw this uncommon contraction a couple of days ago. The sentence read something like
I'za stupid farmer boy, but know a thing or two about computers.
What does the contraction really mean? Is it short for something like "I iz", so that it would seem that the speaker is uneducated? I tried searching online resources, but with a query this short, the results I was getting were pretty useless.
It's a form of
var. I's, Ise...
(N. UK reg. or arch.) I shall.
I'se warrant him nane of your whingeing King George folk. (Walter Scott, Waverley, Vol. II)(N. UK, S. US reg., AAVE) I am, via reg. dial. 'I is'.
Ise, I am or I will. (Wm. Carr, Dialect of Craven... York)
I'se tinking wha' jolly time we will hab on Saturday arternoon, down under ole elm trees, on bank ob de riber. (W.L.G. Smith, Life at South)
that picked up the indefinite article a because of the rhythm of the sentence. Eye dialect is often used mockingly; the example here seems to be self-mocking in the interest of gaining more authority for the modest claim of 'some knowledge' of computers.
It's simply a way of contracting "I is a". In your context I would guess it's a faked patois.
"He sez I'za gonna look like you some day" . google books
and
I'se
1847 in representations of African-American vernacular, a contraction of I is (see is), irregular for I am. (etymonline)
Variations in AAVE an other colloquial AmE: I is, I am Similar to fidna: a fixin to. Seen more written than spoken though I did hear, in jest: I'za gonna whup yo arse.
I have never come across it before. As it will only occur in extremely informal spoken English, you are unlikely to find it in any grammar or dictionary, but it could be used in literature to try and convey a particular way of speaking.
From the sentence I would agree with your reading of it being a contraction of I is a; the /s/ would be voiced, so in the contraction it is represented by a z, and the duplicate /i/ is elided.
In the 50s, the annual Chamber of Commerce minstrel show was still a thing in our small Northern town. Dialect was considered comic in blackface minstrel shows, especially when exaggerated. “I’s a-comin, massuh” as an exit line might’ve brought down the house.
The question is about hearing part of an elision between 2 contractions, ie, I’s a-comin’ as a single word Iza. That’s I’s, a dialectical contraction for “I is” joined to the colloquial a+gerund, such as a-coming, a-changing, a-wooing. Examples: “The times they are a-changing” and “Froggy did a-wooing go”
Lyrics in a Stephen Foster song called “Old Black Joe were often used in minstrel shows.: “I hear their gentle voices calling Old Black Joe. I'm coming…” NB: these lyrics would’ve likely been rendered as “I’s a-comin.” for maximum comic effect. The chorus repeats that phrase several times.
So, Iza stems from misunderstood syllables that are without a meaning on their own.
However in the case of Iza stupid farm boy, he’s saying, “I is a stupid farm boy,” and no gerund is involved.
"I'ze" is an alternate spelling of the Canajan "I's", a contraction of "I is," which means "I am."
Canajan is a language occasionally spoken in Canada.
Example use:
Canajan: I's gawn t' Trawna fer t' hall day, eh?
English: I am going to Toronto for vacation.
