Friday, June 25, 2004
Fast Food Talk
The American language - that annoying root that grew away from the tree of English and some how wandered through the soil, only to find itself infiltrating your sewer laterals, causing back up, and eventually creating over flow onto your fancy tiled bathroom floor. Yep, I suppose you could consider your high school English teacher analogous to the special clean up teams that take care of the mess caused by those pesky tree roots (but the Persian rugs are never the same). English teachers can try as they might to instill in their students proper grammar and better adjectives than "nice", but they can't fend off the outside environment, where those same savage tree roots cause sidewalks to be uneven and trip you when you play Frisbee.
The American language is drowning in waters concentrated with the word "like" and the phrases "you know" and "I mean". During the past few weeks I have examined my conversation with others, particularly noting the amount of times I revert to Valley Girl dialect. The data is astonishing, my fellow Americans, and as I sit hear typing "Americans" I begin to wonder if other countries use similar unnecessary language fillers such as the ones cited above. It's been a while since I've crossed the borders of our country. The closest was during my recent trip to Disney World in the Canadian part of Epcott Center. After watching a documentary and browsing through shops filled with hockey paraphernalia and beer-can-holding hats with plastic straws, I felt more acquainted with Canadian culture and felt learned enough to participate in discussions concerning the Canadian way of life...
Well, maybe Canada is not the best choice in exploring other foreign countries' affinities toward ineffectual word inserts, given their close proximity and similar way of life, and, well, then there's the whole "eh" thing that would take paragraphs to dissect. How about Iceland? I really don't know much about Iceland. It's the birth place of Sigur Ros and Bjork, so it can't be too bad. But given the crazy-ass way they construct their words, I really doubt they give much time to pronouncing more crazy-ass words that provide no added meaning to their statements. French and Spanish - does it really matter? Those languages are sexy no matter what you're saying. The English - I have to say this: I think their accent fools us at times, making certain lads and lasses sound smarter than they really are. Try talking with an English accent while using the vernacular of a southern California surfer - see what I mean? Accent aside, my English friends speak quite fluidly with no hiccups from the babbling stream of babble.
The wandering roots from the language tree - the "like"s and the "you know"s and "I mean"s - find themselves wedged into spaces of conversation once occupied by pauses - pauses needed in order to better articulate the next thought. That's a theory my friend, Jill, has postulated. We Americans are in such a rush to spit out our words and are so afraid of someone interrupting, that we feel we must use word fillers to buy more air time. I have to agree with Jill; listening to coversations around me has only supported this view. Our language has become inundated with preservatives causing the American language to fatten up. Fast Food Nation - Fast Food Talk
Am I becoming a language Nazi? Well, self-righteousness is seeping in like oil into pores, soon to come to a head. I've already brought up in conversation the over use of these partially hydrogenated letter compilations. My friends agree, roll their eyes at me for pointing out their over usage, and then revert back to the convenience of fast food talk.
We don't talk English in the United States - we talk American.
The American language is drowning in waters concentrated with the word "like" and the phrases "you know" and "I mean". During the past few weeks I have examined my conversation with others, particularly noting the amount of times I revert to Valley Girl dialect. The data is astonishing, my fellow Americans, and as I sit hear typing "Americans" I begin to wonder if other countries use similar unnecessary language fillers such as the ones cited above. It's been a while since I've crossed the borders of our country. The closest was during my recent trip to Disney World in the Canadian part of Epcott Center. After watching a documentary and browsing through shops filled with hockey paraphernalia and beer-can-holding hats with plastic straws, I felt more acquainted with Canadian culture and felt learned enough to participate in discussions concerning the Canadian way of life...
Well, maybe Canada is not the best choice in exploring other foreign countries' affinities toward ineffectual word inserts, given their close proximity and similar way of life, and, well, then there's the whole "eh" thing that would take paragraphs to dissect. How about Iceland? I really don't know much about Iceland. It's the birth place of Sigur Ros and Bjork, so it can't be too bad. But given the crazy-ass way they construct their words, I really doubt they give much time to pronouncing more crazy-ass words that provide no added meaning to their statements. French and Spanish - does it really matter? Those languages are sexy no matter what you're saying. The English - I have to say this: I think their accent fools us at times, making certain lads and lasses sound smarter than they really are. Try talking with an English accent while using the vernacular of a southern California surfer - see what I mean? Accent aside, my English friends speak quite fluidly with no hiccups from the babbling stream of babble.
The wandering roots from the language tree - the "like"s and the "you know"s and "I mean"s - find themselves wedged into spaces of conversation once occupied by pauses - pauses needed in order to better articulate the next thought. That's a theory my friend, Jill, has postulated. We Americans are in such a rush to spit out our words and are so afraid of someone interrupting, that we feel we must use word fillers to buy more air time. I have to agree with Jill; listening to coversations around me has only supported this view. Our language has become inundated with preservatives causing the American language to fatten up. Fast Food Nation - Fast Food Talk
Am I becoming a language Nazi? Well, self-righteousness is seeping in like oil into pores, soon to come to a head. I've already brought up in conversation the over use of these partially hydrogenated letter compilations. My friends agree, roll their eyes at me for pointing out their over usage, and then revert back to the convenience of fast food talk.
We don't talk English in the United States - we talk American.
