# Poor speech habits/patterns



## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

My wife and I were having a discussion this morning and I wanted to get a national opinion.
Up here in Western NY there seems to be a speech pattern where a conversation is peppered with the phrase *"ya know what I'm saying"*? this is just like saying "like", "ummm", "ya know", etc.
Is this particular phrase just up here or is it everywhere. If it's different in your neck of the woods? What phrase are you hearing every other sentence?

It just drives me up a freakin wall! "Ya know what I'm sayin"?:bounce:


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## phoebe (Jul 3, 2002)

I need to think about that a bit more, but I have a friend who ALWAYS finishes statements about her opinions, her feelings, her observations, her decisions, with "does that make sense?" And sometimes I honestly have to say, "no, not really."  
Yours as well as my friend's sounds like a kind of reality-check. So what does that say about us or the state of the world that we need to keep checking in with others about our perceptions  .


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Got a d/w from Sri Lanka. Nice guy, excellent worker, but I never know what's going on in his head because when I ask him if he understands instructions he just nods, nod = Yes, same nod = No. When I ask him to repeat instructions I've given him, he just mumbles, and heads off in another direction. On the other hand, never seen anyone like him move so fast or effecient. Drives me batty...


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## boosehound (Jul 17, 2006)

im originally from outside of boston, so the natural mass thing to say is WICKED! i have some freinds from california and they always say hella, which we discussed at the time i met him because i has never heard this phrase before, ever, we decided it was the equivalent to my east coast wicked, we also use wicked pisser to describe something not so good such as a rainy day or a bad night on the line


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

Don't know if it's a faux pas to mention it, but I recall hearing Rachel Ray used the term wicked to denote something similar .


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

also from massachusetts, to go along with wicked - it's pissa(remember there are no r's in the regions vocabulary) if you really want an adjective it would be "wicked pissa"
and don't even try to pronounce some of the local cities names - woista is actually spelled worcester. we tend to drop letters in some places and add them in others. such as kathleen gets morphed into kath-a-leen. 
go figure.  
kathee


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

It's not those little phrases that bug me, it's poor grammer in general. When I was interviewing waitstaff for the new restaurant I couldn't believe how many people I "wrote off" because they sounded like they came from some trailer park in the middle of "BFE." I won't even discuss the number of apps that went right into the trash due to horrible spelling or the use of "computer shorthand."


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## marion (Aug 8, 2006)

"Proper", in general, has degenerated during our life time. Not only in language arts, but dress, table manners, etc...

It wasn't so long ago, jacket and tie was minimal dress. Even the Esso service station attendant wore a hat & tie.

When the phone was answered, in a private residence, the normal salutation was; "This is the "blank" residence, "blank" speaking."

We can go on & on suggesting ways we have allowed our world to become 'lax. I miss our once "properness".


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## boosehound (Jul 17, 2006)

i was thinking that as i typed but i didnt type it, lol everytime i go to mass i can hear that apparently i dont realy talk like that any more o well good call! i cant wait to get to mass now! just to hear someone say that! thanks kathee


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

The dialects across the US are quite different actually. With the rise of national television, they're evening out somewhat.

This is a blocky map showing regional dialects. I've seen better versions with more detail, but I couldn't find one in a quick search.

http://www.geocities.com/yvain.geo/dialects.html

Good ones show the area around Salt Lake City with a totally unique dialect... Sort of how San Francisco or Smoky Mtn is shown on the large version of that map link.

Phil


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I'm in the "Upper Midwestern" area on the map, but I can tell you there are noticeable variances. When I lived in Kenosha, WI (which is in the same area), speech was affected by what I surmised were the effects of immigrant English: Italian and German immigrants, specifically. People 10 miles away from the city didn't have the same nasal quality or other characteristics as those in Kenosha. Now I live just west of Milwaukee, and those qualities are gone. 200 miles north and you've got what's sometimes called the "Yuper" accent- which I think is affected by Nordic immigrants and various Canadian patterns.

No, I'm not a linguist and I don't play one on television. But I do have an "ear" for accents and find them fascinating. 

As for the central subject of this thread: I'm a retired middle school teacher, so I notice it! I demanded proper English (oral and written) but recognized that slang and informal forms are natural and shouldn't be extinguished. Our language is dynamic, a living thing, not static. I delineated between formal and informal situations, and even had a big classroom discussion about it, complete with role-playing. ("You're applying for a babysitting job. Do you use neighborhood slang or formal language?")

By the way, my 84-year-old mom is a retired teacher too. She still corrects my grammar. :blush:


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

You shouldn't correct your elders!


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## aurora (Jan 25, 2006)

Years ago there was a cooking show on PBS which was hosted by an elderly Cajun man who's grammar, pronunciation and idioms would drive me crazy. Evidently in Bayou country the phrase "I gar-run-teeeeeee" is a commonly used phrase. It's used so often, in fact, that it is all but meaningless.

His recipes and dishes were outstanding and he was a colorful character, but his English and manner of speaking was, to me, irritating.

I just have to remind myself the diversity is the spice of life.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

Ahh I do miss Justin Wilson :lol: He was a charactor! (Good food too!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Wilson_(chef)


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## allie (Jul 21, 2006)

I grew up in southeastern Georgia (USA) and now live in northeastern Indiana. My accent now is very strange and is peppered with slang and pronunciations from both regions of the country. I have noticed that people in northern Indiana talk differently than people in southern Indiana. Same goes with different areas of Georgia and all over the south. I find it fascinating to hear others talk. When I first moved to Indiana, I took a job selling homes for a manufactured housing dealership. I had customers refuse to buy from me because they assumed I was "dumb" due to my southern accent. In reality, I was probably a more learned person than they were but just sounded different than what they were accustomed to hearing. I absolutely hate people who judge another based on their accent....poor grammar or street slang, yes but accent is no indicator of intelligence!


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Aurora and CHRose-
Just an interesting sidelight on Justin Wilson...

We were staying in a B & B in Cajun country and I found a book in their library (while waiting for my wife to put on her makeup) on Cajuns and their culture by a professor at (as I recall) LSU. He explained that Wilson made his reputation as a comic by telling what were essentially Polish Jokes about Cajuns.

Polish Jokes were, before the advent of Political Correctness, a generic term for jokes about of the stupidity of any particular racial group. ("How many Poles does it take to screw in a lightbulb?") etc. Now, you can lose your job, and maybe your career, if you say such a thing in public.

Anyway, what drove the Cajuns nuts about Wilson's Polish/Cajun insulting jokes was a couple of things. He was just barely Cajun. One parent was, and the other wasn't. Worse, given his carefully-fractured English, he had a graduate degree in Industiral Engineering. He spent WW II as an Industrial Safety Engineer in defense plants in the Detriot area.

According to the author, the Cajun community really DESPISED Wilson. I was amused with his program at first, but found his cooking uninteresting and his jokes, after a little while, kind of tiresome.

Mike


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## gardenia (Aug 13, 2006)

I don't think this is peculiar to any geographical region - but I am so tired of hearing it. Come to think of it, it's used a lot on cooking shows... 
The sentence begins, "Now I'm just going to (or gonna) go ahead and..." (what - as opposed to waiting a while?)

Also the word "EXACTLY" is very over-used in response to something one agrees with.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I think the age of telemarketing knocked off that ***** of "proper". I give out as little information as possible these days.


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## chrose (Nov 20, 2000)

I was gonna say, that's exactly what I'm talking about! Ya know what I'm saying?


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## bigdog (Nov 20, 2005)

I'm kind of weird. I grew up in Massachusetts (18.5 years) but I don't normally have any inkling of that accent. Now, if I go back and stay a while, it comes back. My mother blames it on my teachers (at the school where she was principal). All of the teachers I had through my elementary years were not native New Englanders.

That said, listen to both of my folks. It is crystal clear they're from Massachusetts.

I'm kind of a blend I guess, and somewhat conform to where I am. I do say "y'all" and "fixin'" and southern type cliches, but I also have caught myself saying "ah-ite" (all right). I don't try to conscieously (sp?) try to control my accent or "dialect" (that doesn't mean word use in terms of cussing, which I control). Whatever is said is what is said.

BTW, it's *g-r-a-m-m-a-r*. I only mention this as I noticed a couple posts misspelled it!


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I have a similar "problem", if you'd like to call it that. I am a foreigner, but I sound American. Once I had to undergo emergency surgery and I called a friend afterwards so she could let everyone know I was okay. I heard gales of laughter. I was quite miffed and then she said, "Your accent is back!" The anesthesia had apparently turned off my American-accent mechanism. My accent also reverts when I am around others with the accent.

Glad to know there is at least one other person who experiences the same thing.


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## blade55440 (Sep 9, 2005)

This may sound like hogwash to some, but I experience something similar. When hanging around various folks with accents, I eventually begin to emulate the accent (be it successfully or not heh). I finally noticed it after hanging out with a bunch of friends with southern accents, then going to work and talking to a bunch of hispanics that I worked with.

That... and when you're friends just up and go "dude, stop trying to fake the accent" and you don't even realize it.


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## nick.shu (Jul 18, 2000)

Accent is not such a big deal. Lack of spelling skills is.

But anyway, FreeRider, I am Australian, but I spent a considerable amount of time under the tutelage of English teachers in Hong Kong and have a wee clipped accent. Throw another 2 years of Jesuit education and "teh posh" accent jumps out every now and then. Catches people by surprise, somewhat, but then again - Meh.


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## mezzaluna (Aug 29, 2000)

I understand the "cameleon ear" effect because I have it! This trick helps me understand people who are speaking English with other accents. I once went to a physician who is a native of Japan. People warned me I wouldn't be able to understand him, and that he brings nurses (American English natives) into consulatations because no one can understand him. I could understand him perfectly without any difficulty.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I suppose that's one of the side-effects, Mezzaluna. I also have no trouble understanding people with heavy accents. A friend of mine who grew up in NY and was not exposed to languages other than English absolutely cannot understand someone with even the slightest accent other than the NY type. Noam Chomsky talks about a black box for language that turns off at about age 12. If one is exposed to other languages and accents before age 12, learning those languages is easier, even if the learning takes place many years later.


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