Global Fluctuations In The English Language

Here in the States much of the language developed via Hollywood. One example, the famed Valley Girl, "like, ya know" or in times past the oratory examples in the drama or romance movies of the 50's of 60's. "Yes, my dear, how darling of you".

The old movies tried to emulate proper British speak but lost the true British pronunciation. The Catholic hierachy still uses this for of speech here today.

Primarily though our majoring programming on TV was driven by the least ethnic influence. No Boston, NYC, Chicago, Raleigh dialects allowed.

But says I, "yins gots to have the variety of moving lips or yas lose the real translation".

Originally posted by Death_Kron
reply to post by cushycrux

 

Now personally I find that even stranger than adopting a common saying or catchphrase! It's one thing to subconsciously adopt a phrase that you have heard through the media such as on the internet or TV but something entirely different to actually adopt a misspelling of a particular word.

Do you have any idea why people have started to misspell the word? Something to do with a TV program for example?

Hm, I would say I first saw it in the internet on news comments and forum posts. Then more and more you heard it in TV when they ask people on the street things. And now almost everyone is using this ugly (not logical) word.

"I am the onest, more one then you can ever can be." LOL

We use alemanisch in switzerland, thats similar to german, but no the same. And we still say: Einzige and not Einzigste - sometimes a friend on mine does misspell it, but corrects it within the sentence.

"Das einzigste..... einzige...." like that.

Funny, a few years ago a friend brought this up. Catchphrases and differing ways of saying common word.

We came up with a few ideas and tried to spread them. For the life of me I cannot remember any.

Greensage, you bring to the table accents and inflections to the conversation. I have moved around the US extensively. California, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts plus a couple more.

I actually like hearing the different accents and trying to emulate it. I find it kind of fun, kinda like acting.

Toity toid and toid avenue.

Wooster.

Dontja know aye?

Dis ere is me gamma.

Several times coming back to the Midwest I was told I had actually picked up inflections and accents where I had lived for awhile. Probably my attempt to mimic those around me.

But, the weirdest place was in Central Missouri where a lot of the people had this slow southern drawl that when a women talked I found Boo Yah. But, they had a hard time understanding me. I was told I was talking way too fast.

I am trying to think of something those in Fresno thought was hilarious when I moved out there........oh yeah.

Ever hear? Did you go to the show orno? ORNO said quite fast instead of or not.

People would just look at me funny and say WHAT?

Okay everyone, I want that to go global, a new way as a ending to a sentence, orno?

[edit on 7/30/2010 by endisnighe]

reply to post by Death_Kron


Funnily enough I lived in Manchester for 2 years (boycott HMV) and my girlfriend's a Manc, I'm darrrn sarf now,, when I go up I really notice all the little colloquialisms and phrases.

I think a lot of it does have to do with tv though, there are a lot of regional variations in the UK that you don't notice so much until someone in the limelight uses them and then people start to use them in conversation.

Also in any environment where there's dense use of language it's easy to assimilate it. One of my mates was in a metal band and spent a week in the recording studio, when he came out he dropped the "C" bomb in front of his mum, not good

reply to post by jokei


Yeah mate, maybe its a Northern thing but saying that Southerners have their own entire sets of catchphrases and rhyming slang. As you and others have said it probably does have a lot to do with TV but the two specific examples I mentioned in the OP I have never heard before (strange because I watch a lot of TV)

I'm tending to think that people pick up the little inflections, catchphrase's and intonations from either the media or personal experience then others subconsciously adopt them during conversation.

I find it very interesting to be honest, I'm not sure if you've heard of the Global Consciousness Project but this appears to be like a Global Linguistic Project that we all take part in subconsciously.

Edit to add: Not good about your mate, but I know what you mean I've noticed myself speaking in different ways depending on the group of people I'm with at that moment in time and sometimes you can get a little confused with not so clever consequences!

My father has a pretty strong local accent and I find that when I speak with him my own strong local accent becomes stronger.

[edit on 30/7/10 by Death_Kron]