[Magdalen] Like I Was Puzzled.

Thu Dec 4 22:49:03 UTC 2014

I was in Lancaster when I learned it was soda.

> On Dec 4, 2014, at 2:29 PM, Esther Williamson <momohl1 at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> It is pop in north western Pennsylvania, too.
> 
> Esther
> 
>> On 12/4/2014 1:57 PM, Grace Cangialosi wrote:
>> No, they say pop in parts of WV, as well.
>> 
>>> On Dec 4, 2014, at 9:52 AM, "Charles Wohlers" <charles.wohlers at verizon.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> "Soda" vs. "Pop" is a standard regional thing. It's "pop" in the Midwest, but "soda" in the northeast and California. In Boston (always different) it's "tonic".
>>> 
>>> I guess you'll just have to move back to Michigan if you want folks to say "pop".
>>> 
>>> http://www.popvssoda.com
>>> 
>>> And -
>>> 
>>> You say either and I say either,
>>> You say neither and I say neither
>>> Either, either Neither, neither
>>> Let's call the whole thing off.
>>> 
>>> You like potato and I like potahto
>>> You like tomato and I like tomahto
>>> Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.
>>> Let's call the whole thing off
>>> 
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnf5HnW8C4E
>>> (Is that Lester Young on tenor?)
>>> 
>>> Chad Wohlers
>>> Woodbury, VT USA
>>> chadwohl at satucket.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message----- From: Kate Conant
>>> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2014 9:22 AM
>>> To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
>>> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Like I Was Puzzled.
>>> 
>>> What irks me:
>>> 
>>> People saying "soda" for "pop", "issue" for "problems", "impact" for
>>> "affect (v)" or "effect (n)", "nY-ther" for "neither", "Y-ther" for
>>> "either",  "Ah" for "I", 20  items "or less" for "or fewer" and "behavioral
>>> health" for "brain disorder".
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> "What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love mercy, and walk
>>> humbly with your God?"
>>> Micah 6:8
>>> 
>>>> On Thu, Dec 4, 2014 at 7:22 AM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Oh my gosh, Grace. That reminds me of a classmate in our Psych Masters
>>>> group who made up an all-purpose therapy response. Went something like:
>>>> 
>>>> So, as I understand you there, you're saying that in some way, at some
>>>> level, you feel.....
>>>> 
>>>> AARGH!! Thank goodness for narrative therapy and goodbye to All That.
>>>> 
>>>> I quite like the use of "go" for "say" or "said". As a habit  it can be
>>>> most annoying, but I enjoy the way it captures the game-like aspects of
>>>> verbal communication. I think of it as "having a go" (as in a board game)
>>>> or "fair go" as the Australians say.
>>>> 
>>>> Sally
>>>> 
>>>>> On Thursday, 4 December 2014, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> LOL, Sally!
>>>>> 
>>>>> What I find somewhat puzzling is the way it gets used to describe a
>>>>> conversation. I mean, I kind of get its use to place the speaker
>>>> somewhere,
>>>>> as in "I was, like, going to the store."
>>>>> 
>>>>> But I don't get
>>>>> "Well, I was like, 'How was your date last night?' And she was like,
>>>> 'He's
>>>>> cute, but really boring," and I was like...    Well you get it.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The other usage that intrigues me is the use of "go" instead of "say."
>>>>> 
>>>>> "So I go 'Did you watch the game?' and he goes, 'No, I had to go > shopping
>>>>> with my dad.' and I go....
>>>>> 
>>>>> Then there's beginning every question and response with "so."  I hear
>>>> that
>>>>> all the time in NPR interviews.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Grace, sometime curmudgeon when it comes to language, grammar and
>>>>> punctuation
>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Dec 3, 2014, at 3:56 PM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com
>>>>>> <javascript:;>> wrote:
>>>>>> Pervasive here, too. This habit started, I guess, with kids and
>>>> teenagers
>>>>>> but has spread to older generations and from wherever it originated
>>>>>> (California? London?) to a wide variety of English speaking contexts.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The usual form here is "I was like...".
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I think that people have taken to this expression because it is
>>>> somewhat
>>>>>> distancing and seems not to commit one to a truth position. I was > > "like
>>>>>> that" - but I wasn't "that".  Maybe it's too much of a stretch to
>>>>> conclude
>>>>>> something about the culture in which such tentative self-positioning
>>>>> seems
>>>>>> to thrive...?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> "After that, I replied...", or "and then, I did X"  sounds not only
>>>> more
>>>>>> formal but more documentary! The "I was like" OTOH, avoids the bother
>>>> of
>>>>>> finding the right verb. It sets up a sentence (if one could call it
>>>> that)
>>>>>> which could go anywhere. I could be, like, saying something, or it's
>>>>> like I
>>>>>> could have done something, or maybe I could even be, like so wasted I
>>>>> can't
>>>>>> actually recall what I was like.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> And sad/denialist as it may be, when you hang around with kids enough
>>>> of
>>>>>> the time, you do, like, start borrowing their expressions in
>>>>> self-defence...
>>>>>> Language evolves...or maybe unravels...
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Sally D
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On Wednesday, 3 December 2014, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
>>>>>> magdalen at herberthouse.org <javascript:;>> wrote:
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I've had several people visiting my home recently whose every other
>>>>>>> sentence
>>>>>>> begins with "Like I was...." of some such.  These were not teenagers,
>>>>> but
>>>>>>> adults in their 40's and 50's.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I've been aware of this rage for describing usually something in the
>>>>> past
>>>>>>> with descriptions beginning with "Like", but I wasn't aware such
>>>> usage
>>>>>>> has crept so far into the general USA population.  I have no clue
>>>> about
>>>>>>> this
>>>>>>> phenomenon in other English speaking areas of the world.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> This "like" business has become chronic and pervasive in the USA, and
>>>>>>> my question is about whether this is a fad, or marks  a chronic > >> change
>>>>>>> in spoken English.  If it is long term, it demonstrates a
>>>>> trivialization
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>> the language IMHO.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Anyone have any thoughts about this "like" usage and predictions
>>>> about
>>>>>>> its continued usage?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> David S.
> 
> 
> 
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