scottyrocks
I'll Lock Up
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"Irregardless" may have its origin in such a dialect -- a word used to express the same idea as "regardless" but with additional emphasis.
Maybe so, but . . .
"Irregardless" may have its origin in such a dialect -- a word used to express the same idea as "regardless" but with additional emphasis.
Makes me wonder about “redouble,” a perfectly “proper” word but a seeming redundancy nonetheless.
Let's all start using irrequadruple and see how long it takes Merriam-Webster to create a definition.Wouldn’t that be the same as quadruple?
It's all very confusing. Do you include the original single effort in the calculation? If so you have the original effort plus the second doubled effort, then possibly the 3rd redoubled effort. We may need a grant to study this.Wouldn’t that be the same as quadruple?
Let's all start using irrequadruple and see how long it takes Merriam-Webster to create a definition.
There are some American dialects where the use of a double or triple negative is actually a valid intensifier: "He don't wan't nothin' from nobody nohow!" A sentence like that might cause Sherwin Cody to writhe in dismay, but it clearly expresses the desired statement. "Irregardless" may have its origin in such a dialect -- a word used to express the same idea as "regardless" but with additional emphasis.
Students of African-American Vernacular English know all about the practice of "code switching," and I submit that we all "code switch" to one extent or another in our daily interactions -- a formal variation of the language we speak for more formal situations, and a more colloquial dialect when we're in a more relaxed setting. I have my "radio voice" and my normal voice, which are completely different, and I consciously switch between the two depending on what's required.
Culturally, one classification of dialect may be considered superior to another in terms of prestige, but from a linguistic perspective, they're simply variations on a theme. Street forms of English, if they have their own internally-consistent structure and rules of usage, are considered just as valid linguistically as Standard English. But, culturally, SE is the prestigious dialect, and it pays to know how to speak it, even if you don't care to use it all the time. I'll speak SE when I'm on TV or whatever, but when I'm at my regular job I speak a colloquial, non-rhotic New England/Northeastern working-class dialect -- because that's the character I'm playing when interacting with the customers. They expect a Local to talk that way, and I'm in show business, so I give them a show, exaggerating my natural speech patterns just enough so they get what they want.
All language, you could argue, is performance, and when we interact with other people over the course of a day, we're all performing our cultural role. The way we choose to speak in any given situation is one way to do that.
Students of African-American Vernacular English know all about the practice of "code switching," and I submit that we all "code switch" to one extent or another in our daily interactions -- a formal variation of the language we speak for more formal situations, and a more colloquial dialect when we're in a more relaxed setting. I have my "radio voice" and my normal voice, which are completely different, and I consciously switch between the two depending on what's required.
Culturally, one classification of dialect may be considered superior to another in terms of prestige, but from a linguistic perspective, they're simply variations on a theme. Street forms of English, if they have their own internally-consistent structure and rules of usage, are considered just as valid linguistically as Standard English. But, culturally, SE is the prestigious dialect, and it pays to know how to speak it, even if you don't care to use it all the time. I'll speak SE when I'm on TV or whatever, but when I'm at my regular job I speak a colloquial, non-rhotic New England/Northeastern working-class dialect -- because that's the character I'm playing when interacting with the customers. They expect a Local to talk that way, and I'm in show business, so I give them a show, exaggerating my natural speech patterns just enough so they get what they want.
All language, you could argue, is performance, and when we interact with other people over the course of a day, we're all performing our cultural role. The way we choose to speak in any given situation is one way to do that.
Likewise I do occasionally enjoy leading the self important down the garden path and then quietly letting the air out of their balloon. I have noticed that most of the people who have anointed themselves as highly superior are by far the easiest to lead.But I gotta admit that I sometimes play the rube when in sniffier company. Tweaking those upturned noses gives me a kick.
So is this^ your normal voice or your radio voice?
A female friend does this when answering phone calls at work; she pronounces her words a little more clearly than she does during fact-to-face interactions, and her voice drops a few octaves and becomes a little "Marilyn Monroe" breathy. A male friend and I refer to it as her "phone sex" voice.Students of African-American Vernacular English know all about the practice of "code switching," and I submit that we all "code switch" to one extent or another in our daily interactions -- a formal variation of the language we speak for more formal situations, and a more colloquial dialect when we're in a more relaxed setting. I have my "radio voice" and my normal voice, which are completely different, and I consciously switch between the two depending on what's required...
Students of African-American Vernacular English know all about the practice of "code switching," and I submit that we all "code switch" to one extent or another in our daily interactions -- a formal variation of the language we speak for more formal situations, and a more colloquial dialect when we're in a more relaxed setting. I have my "radio voice" and my normal voice, which are completely different, and I consciously switch between the two depending on what's required.
Culturally, one classification of dialect may be considered superior to another in terms of prestige, but from a linguistic perspective, they're simply variations on a theme. Street forms of English, if they have their own internally-consistent structure and rules of usage, are considered just as valid linguistically as Standard English. But, culturally, SE is the prestigious dialect, and it pays to know how to speak it, even if you don't care to use it all the time. I'll speak SE when I'm on TV or whatever, but when I'm at my regular job I speak a colloquial, non-rhotic New England/Northeastern working-class dialect -- because that's the character I'm playing when interacting with the customers. They expect a Local to talk that way, and I'm in show business, so I give them a show, exaggerating my natural speech patterns just enough so they get what they want.
All language, you could argue, is performance, and when we interact with other people over the course of a day, we're all performing our cultural role. The way we choose to speak in any given situation is one way to do that.