Word Surge

'Up close and personal' is starting to annoy me.

Wed, 2009-06-17 08:38

I have to confess Jennifer, that 'well good' never really bothered me. In fact, 'well' anything has been acceptable since John the Baptist baptised Jesus in the Jordan and God said, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased". However, the excessive use of the word 'like' and the phrase 'kind of' necessitates the reintroduction of village stocks. jude

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:01

sunshine

whatever..........

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:14

When shopping and have come to the end of the transaction the counter assistant hands me my purchase and receipt, smiles and says " there you go" ???

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:19

jennifer

There's a book called 'Watching the English' that is very funny when it looks at the interactions between barkeep and customer and checkout person and customer and the over-use of 'thank you'. Very funny reading, innit! J x

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:29

#10

Another thing that makes me want to pull my hair out is when someone is saying something that involves the letter 'H' and they pronounce it Haitch. Is it me? I was always under the impression it's spelled Aitch. Surely you can't put a letter were there isn't one, it's not like dropping the H when its silent as in Honour or Hour. Don't get me started this is a favourite hobby horse of mine (-;

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:48

#11

sunshine

Thinking of these specific examples - I HATE when I hear such things referred to as 'pacific'. Then there's 'parsay' instead of 'per se'.

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:58

#12

Goodness, that reminds me, we've been here before. I thought I was having an odd sensation of déjà vu! http://www.abctales.com/node/95915 http://new.abctales.com/node/199533 jude

Wed, 2009-06-17 12:59

#13

Ewan

déjà lu

Author Page at the 'Zon

Fri, 2009-06-26 16:58

(Reply to #13) #14

deja who?

Wed, 2009-06-17 13:33

#15

luigi_pagano

Talking of which, don't you hate it when you hear "déjà vu all over again?"

Wed, 2009-06-17 13:35

#16

I've told you a million times not to exaggerate. jude

Wed, 2009-06-17 15:28

#17

jxmartin

Jude, You frame an interesting topic. The evolution of language fascinates me. The same language that crafted Beowulf,spawned Hamlet, rhyming cockney and later "Valley speak" in California. And at the time it was used, most folks understood the medium. It gives one pause to consider the whole notion of language. Throw in "Body English" and you have enough material to spoof for years. Deja Vu all over again is a favorite tongue in cheek poke at an old American baseball player named Yogi Berrra, who used and abused the verbal idiom when expressing himself often with comical results. In the 1940's, there was an urchin in a film series, The Dead End Gang, who used words way over his depth linguistically. You can see this same comical effect in many political speeches today. In the movie "Sophie's Choice," they had great fun with immigrants misstating English idioms with often humerous results. Any one who has ever tried to speak in a second language smiles in recognition at the difficulty. Trying to express oneself in a clear and concise manner, on subjects that are complex, is not s easy as it looks. Throw in even more confusion with the new spelling forms, arising from computer shortened acronyms, and it gets really confusing. We are in substance what we sound like to strangers. No wonder the world is a confusing place. J.X.M

Wed, 2009-06-17 15:36

#18

jxmartin

I thought I had written something on this subject . The Babel of Speech” A Frenzied exchange of conflicitng ideas Inquisitive eyes seeking reassurance Do words mean what they appear to mean? Or assume the meaning we want them to? The distortion of intent solidifies in sound. Variations of theme are lost on the listener. Speaking of the complexities of ideas becomes an exercise in verbal futility. The garble of resonance we identify as speech is heard and most commonly understood at a level of the most mundane and mean, like the frenzied grunting of apes in a cage. We are a species of mutes who slowly evolved using speech from countless towers of babel, finding that perception lies in the ken of the listener And he isn’t listening, or hears what he wants. -30- J.X.M

Wed, 2009-06-17 15:57

#19

I see nothing wrong with mixing it up a bit, throwing in a few colloquialisms, playing with words etc. Language is a living thing. It's a shame when it degenerates though IMO.

Wed, 2009-06-17 16:00

#20

I think it was our MacJoyce who lamented the loss of cockney to what he described as "a new bastard hybrid accent which mimics Jamaican. The result is a revolting Ali G twang that sounds nothing like Cockney or Jamaican and is an insult to both" and went on to say this is due to "braindead f*****g Wiggers who'd rather talk like some kind of joke rapper than like their parents or grandparents." This accent is officially known as 'multicultural English' or more commonly 'Jafaican' but the experts disagree with Mac in that far from being the product of kids trying to be cool it is due to immigration and change in social mix. According to a Ms Fox, researcher at Lancaster Uni, "What has emerged is a distinctive inner-London patois which borrows heavily from Jamaican creole, lifting some words unchanged. But it has been influenced by other speech patterns mainly Bangladeshi and West African, with a little South American and Arab thrown in." Personally, I find it utterly ghastly and it is the number one reason I would not send my children to a London state school. jude

Wed, 2009-06-17 16:12

#21

... I have also been wondering whether the excessive use of the word 'like' and the phrase 'kind of' reflects ambivalence in today's young. I don't agree with many of my colleagues who believe generation Y is commitment-phobic but I have heard presentations given in a professional environement where the speaker has said : " this project is based on like a radical idea: that God calls us to kind of live simply. It's like a challenge to reflect and take action in order to work for justice, and to kind of be happier in ourselves . It's kind of about seeking what we need rather than grasping for more." All those 'like's and 'kind of's demonstrate a lack of confidence and commitment in what is being said, and goes beyond a mere linguistic trend. jude

Wed, 2009-06-17 16:25

#22

Very good point poetjude. It's as if (like?) they don't want to commit to anything too specific.

Thu, 2009-06-18 00:44

#23

Maybe everybody wants to be normal? Nobody wants to be too posh or clever. I knew that was you tinkering with the code BTW.

Thu, 2009-06-18 10:16

#24

I don't know but I think it's here to stay. I was watching a London Tonight piece a few months ago about the new library and they interviewed a 10 year old school girl who looked to me like a Serbian Muslim and to hear her talking in this ridiculous Jafaican accent filled me with pity. The problem is also that teachers are taught not to correct 'dialect' but this accent severely compromises employment chances. jude

Thu, 2009-06-18 15:15

#25

andrea

Safe, man. You lookin buff in dem low batties. Dey's sick, man. Me? I'm just jammin wid me bruds. Dis my yard, innit? Is nang, you get me? No? What ends you from then? http://www.ukauthors.com http://www.ukapress.com

http://www.ukauthors.com

http://www.ukapress.com

Thu, 2009-06-18 17:00

#26

Well, that kind of slang is around but not as prevalent as a sort of Jafaican twang on ordinary English. Such as the word 'like' which a speaker of Estuary English would say 'liyke', a cockney would say 'loike' (both with short vowels) but inner city children now say 'laahk' with a very long vowel reminiscent of patois. I think Mac was right in that it started as imitation of crap rap but it has now infected schools where most children (especially if their own parents don't speak English) pick up their accents. jude

Fri, 2009-06-19 12:41

#27

The hell you say! At the end of the day Get off of my back Cut me some slack Stay outa my face Get off of my case Have a nice day When push come to shove The bigger picture Go figure Back atcha Thinking outside the box And pushing the envelope all Americanisms and modern day sound bites that have me gnashing my teeth, but then I am just a grumpy old woman.. To coin a phrase. (-;

Fri, 2009-06-19 13:52

#28

"I was like" instead of "I said" is very annoying and very wrong but I think that is clear to the majority of people. But the insidious 'way too' instead of 'far too' has achieved acceptance by stealth across all British accents. I heard a newspiece and one of those socialite Geldof girls was being interviewed and her speech was horrific; full of 'way too's and superflous 'like's . I was shocked that this individual is the product of an expensive private school. I would complain to the school if that's the best they could come up with for 15k a year. jude

Fri, 2009-06-19 19:41

#29

~
www.fabulousmother.co.uk

'Very unique'....makes me squirm.

Fri, 2009-06-19 19:52

#30

2Lou

Jude said... "...'well good' never really bothered me. In fact, 'well' anything has been acceptable since John the Baptist baptised Jesus in the Jordan and God said, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased". Cheers, Jude! Made me laugh mightily - which is a feat as I'm currently NICOTINE DEPRIVED!!!! (Day three and counting). I can't stand - "Take care of you" ughhhh, yuck, splutter... ~ www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Fri, 2009-06-19 21:17

#31

~
www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Well done. The first week is hard. But after 2 and a half years off the cigs, I feel equipped to say it is possible and definitely worth it! jude

Sun, 2009-06-21 13:47

#32

tcook

You and me Lou - today marks the end of week three. A very healthy couple of weeks tramping about the Highlands have helped and I only think about fags around twenty times a day now. Keep at it!

Mon, 2009-06-22 17:29

#33

2Lou

Ah good going, Tony. I'll bring the peanuts to the pub next time. I'm on about thirty packets of peanuts a day now... ~ www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Wed, 2009-06-24 21:12

#34

styx

I'm off the cigarettes 21 years now, now for the booze. Back to the annoying phrases or pronunciations. "Are you coming back to mine?" Inserting an aitch into street as in shtreet or shtrings, whatevva, fink, fawt route pronounced as rowt and yes I heard Beeb newsreader pronounce it like that, it's just so slackjawed!!!!!!!!!! Stop it! Mind you there is one benefit at least we can take the high ground.

Fri, 2009-06-26 12:28

#35

styx

I wonder how long it will be before we start saying 'are we done here?' Rather than 'are we finished?'

Fri, 2009-06-26 16:13

#36

and what about "What up" instead of "is something wrong?"

Fri, 2009-06-26 19:22

#37

Glad you didn't say Irish AND thick FTSE. :(

Fri, 2009-06-26 19:44

#38

Well, 'ave an 'appy evening 'ope you enjoy ;)

Fri, 2009-06-26 20:48

#39

styx

I used to live with an Irish woman one of the most fearsomely intelligent people I've ever met. I had to accept that she pronounced aitch as Haitch and film as fillum.

Sat, 2009-06-27 00:16

#40

~
www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Sounds a bit posh to me FTSE.

Sat, 2009-06-27 00:51

#41

2Lou

As far as the upward intonation thing goes... We're waaaay too late People and I'm well depressed. Cos I was like listening to my 14-year-old on the phone and she was like, 'hi Auntie Jules, well I went to the shops? and bought these legwarmers?' We is well doomed. ~ www.fabulousmother.co.uk

Sat, 2009-06-27 01:46

#42

The way that my teenage daughter uses the phrase; 'He goes' and 'She goes' when she really means 'He said' and 'she said'....lost cause!

Sat, 2009-06-27 10:05

#43

styx

'There's lots of reasons' makes my teeth fester, especially when uttered by BBC news readers. Oh and another one - he's six foot one - no the last time I looked six was a plural and so must be six feet one.

Mon, 2009-06-29 10:32

#44

I purchased at the weekend a book published in 1911 by a Prof. Duncan entitled "How to Speak English Correctly". I was pleased to note 75% of the common errors cited are not ones I make, another 15% are words or phrases that have dated and are not used. Of the 10% errors I do make, this was due to me being taught incorrectly. For example, I grew up surrounded by people pronouncing mischievous “mischievious so I picked up the error because I didn’t know any better. Apparently leisure is pronounced ‘lee-sure’ but I’m not sure I can bring myself to do this. Apparently heinous is in fact pronounced ‘hay-nous’ so the it isn’t an exception to the I before E rule. The funniest passage in the book went something like this, “These errors are due to cockneyism which should not be adopted by the sons of Abraham in this country. It is certainly not the manner in which a Christian should speak …”

Mon, 2009-06-29 17:24

(Reply to #44) #45

Insertponceyfre...

jude he is talking bollocks! pay no attention. it is not lee-sure, nor is it hay-nous. It never has been either. Like the funny passage though : )

Mon, 2009-06-29 15:50

#46

styx

What gets my spleen festering is 'I was speaking with someone' no you were talking to someone. If I said I was in conversation to someone I would fully expect TJ here with a fully armed baseball racquet.

Mon, 2009-06-29 16:37

#47

styx

Oh and the American version of mirror as in Tracy Austin at Wimbledon 'players have to look at themselves in the meer.'

Mon, 2009-06-29 16:50

#48

sarah wilson

That's her off of the telly - yuk

Mon, 2009-06-29 17:42

#49

styx

Tracy Austin at Wimbledon: 'she's making too many airs.'

Mon, 2009-06-29 21:19

#50