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The Nation's Pulse
Debasement Is Not Just a Damp Room Under Your House
Just how debased can the English language become and still be called English?
When I opened my Sunday New York Times to a story on Derek Jeter this week I was stumped from the first word. I had to ask my daughter to define OMG. “I use it all the time,” she said. “Where have you been?”
“Oh my God,” I reminded her. “In France.”
Visitors, foreign and American-born, are finding communication increasingly difficult as catchwords proliferate. Often they seem to come from the schoolyard.
Just how debased can the English language become and still be called English? I pondered this question as I attempted to function in the U.S. after living an extended period in Europe.
The day before my OMG experience, an angry motorist in Boston wanted to share his opinion of my driving skills. He held up his right hand to his forehead and formed an “L” with his thumb and index finger extended. “Loser,” my 12-year-old grandson translated. As I grumbled unintelligibly, my grandson held up three fingers and rotated his hand to the left. The “W” became an “E”, shorthand for “whatever.”
I assume American adults will be doing the “whatever” sign to each other eventually, just as they picked up the l-word. (“Whatever” as a spoken word regrettably seems here to stay.)
Kids used to borrow language from adults. Now the opposite is happening. Is this country regressing?
The last time I paid attention to the American vernacular, “awesome” (from “awe”: reverential fear or wonder) was a rather cute grownup word tossed around on the playground to describe fast rope-skipping and such. Now I see it is common currency among real estate agents, the military, doctors, NASCAR commentators, and even the ethereal voices of NPR. I heard one smug woman the other day interviewing a minor author. “You new novel is awesome,” she purred. He purred back. I thought, “Whatever.”
“Awesome” has the British laughing at us again. One Londoner wrote on the web recently that it is “a word Americans use to describe everything.” What we have here is a trend I’ll call double reverse migration, or the snatching of a children’s word by adults after it had first been snatched by the kids.
Some adults are still stymied by these two syllables, though. A junior executive friend of mine recently received a herogram from her boss — a woman comfortably salaried in the middle six figures — that consisted of one word: “AWSUM!”
Part of American lingo creep is normal in a healthy language, and some of it can be fun. I won’t deal here with Sarah Palin’s formulations, the Twitter or texting crowd, fashion patios, tech talk or satellite radio. Eventually someone will do the book.
The list of neologisms and vulgarisms will be long. What is a visitor to make of words like “diss” meaning to trash, “sick” meaning excellent, “rad” meaning even better and “wicked” (at least in New England) meaning best? They don’t teach this stuff in ESL classes.
People who work with words are alarmed by slippage into vocabulary that was once over the line in mixed company. Try late-night television, where boundaries of propriety are steadily moving outward. Those of us who can remember Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” are appalled at Jay Leno’s monotonous sexual innuendo and the sprinkling in the monologue of “hells” and “damns” and worse. The FCC used to police abuse of the public airwaves, threatening license problems for those who overstepped. Come back Newton Minnow.
And what are we to make of a publishing industry that brings out family-oriented titles such as ‘The Big-Ass Book of Crafts” and “The Big-Ass Book of Home Decor”?
Okay, I’m confused. I admit it. Isn’t “Kick-Ass,” a major movie, a vulgar title? And how to explain that the very preppy population of Wellesley, near once-uptight Boston, seemed unperturbed when Kickass Cupcakes (“Think about cupcakes in a new way”) moved into their tranquil town of McMansions and rolling lawns? Or the randy boys at Boston University who enjoy autumn girl-watching on Massachusetts Avenue, known as Mass Ave, or more familiarly as “Ass Ave.”
Some proper households are on edge. My daughter gasped when her 12-year-old interjected a “WTF?” into dinnertable conversation. “Chill, mom,” he said. “It means ‘Why the face?’”
Whatever.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (114) | Leave a comment
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P. Aaron| 9.21.10 @ 7:35AM
Back in the Saddle by Aerosmith is the most kick-ass song. That is not arguable. It just is. We have however, lost some of the language when mere political disagreements mean one is racist. We've lost the language when talk of cutting spending means that the proposing cutter is racist and possibly Islamo-or Homo phobic. What is homo or Islamo-phobia anyway. Fear of Islam & Homo, or wariness of their respective practices?
Couldn't the Homo's and Islamo-types be considered Christianophobes?
RAMIII| 9.21.10 @ 2:20PM
"when talk of cutting spending means that the proposing cutter is racist"
In fact -- we have lost the language, when "cutting spending" means cutting the "proposed INCREASES in spending" rather than actually lowering the actual dollars expended.
Alan Brooks| 9.21.10 @ 5:10PM
"In fact -- we have lost the language, when "cutting spending" means cutting the "proposed INCREASES in spending"
You are right on target, more so than the Aerosmith fan above.
Aerosmith are merely five chord stageprancers. Dime a dozen, everything from ABBA to the commercial throwaways Zappa sometimes did.
Such as Valley Girl, and its "gag me with a spoon, barfed out."
No one will EVER go broke selling that effluvia.
Paul D| 9.21.10 @ 3:32PM
Dennis Miller said it best the other day: "Phobic" is the new way to call someone a "doody-head."
Alan Brooks| 9.21.10 @ 10:49PM
No Sirrah, we here use the King's English, we write "feces-cranium"
Appleby| 9.21.10 @ 7:40AM
If literate adults would refuse to use these neologisms, they would soon die out. I find that substituting the correct word with a superior smile works quite well for me. (To give one example, when a colleague used the word f***ing in my presence, I gave the superior smile, and said *Dont you mean VERY?* A startled look and then the sheepish reply, *I guess.* To which I replied, *I SUPPOSE you did.* Same thing with people who sling around the WTF thing -- dont they mean *Pardon me?*
And so on.
Miss Alabama| 9.21.10 @ 9:39AM
B.R. Myers writes a scathing review of Johnathan Franzen's new book in this month's "The Atlantic."
I quote from the review:
"But although the narrator of Freedom tells us on the first page, “There had always been something not quite right about the Berglunds,” one need read only that the local school “sucked” and that Patty was “very into” her teenage son, who in turn was “fucking” the girl next door, to know that whatever is wrong with these people does not matter. The language a writer uses to create a world is that world, and Franzen’s strenuously contemporary and therefore juvenile language is a world in which nothing important can happen."
This is why I never read contemporary fiction. I choose to read novels from the past because the characters have a sense of dignity, definition and emotional depth.
dennis2j| 9.21.10 @ 11:47AM
My sentiments exactly, Miss Alabama. And now, back to the Jane Austen novel I am re-reading.
joli| 9.21.10 @ 9:59PM
What exactly do you do with a 6th grader who reads at a college level? Yep, the classics!
Bookworms Rule!| 10.6.10 @ 10:23AM
Emma?Mansfield Park?(I didn't like this one very much)
Dai Alanye | 9.21.10 @ 1:38PM
The weakness of contemporary popular fiction might be epitomized by the Stieg Larssen novels that are now enjoying so much success. I managed to read and skim my way through the first, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Space and time here are insufficient to catalog its weaknesses of plot and character development, and its inane crudeness.
But they (including The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest) are so popular I've decided to write one in the same style, entitled The Girl Who Wore Her Knickers Backwards. That's as far as I've got, but based on contemporary tastes it ought to be sufficient to gain me a six-figure advance.
Appleby| 9.21.10 @ 2:54PM
I quit reading on the first page where someone (1) tears off his or her clothes, (2) curses, blasphemes or (3) says "I go" when s/he means "I said."
Or sometimes when I am reading the review and it includes the word "sexy".
I don't read much fiction save Dorothy Sayers, P.D. James and vintage Science Fiction. And childrens' books from before 1956 when the Sanitizers got hold of them.
Bookworms Rule!| 10.6.10 @ 10:25AM
I don't mean to sound stupid,but what is up with the sandwiches?
scythe| 9.21.10 @ 9:47PM
We're probably reading the same books for the very same reasons. You have a LOT of company. Love your comments.
Bookworms Rule!| 10.6.10 @ 10:15AM
I couldn't agree with you more.
Flee| 9.21.10 @ 3:31PM
I do the same with "ya know". I respond "No, I don't know". Say no to "yeah; hey; supposebly; aks, etc...". I find it interesting that watching a Chinese production last night the English subtitles inserted "f*** me" into the statement of a character. I doubt what he said was the equivalent, but I was a little shocked to see it on broadcast television. I have also seen "s***" more than a few times on these programs. I'm still waiting for the appearance of the N word.
DG in GA| 9.21.10 @ 3:37PM
Excellent idea!
Although I have noticed, at least since MY teenaged years, that as soon as the adults adopted terms the teens were using, they almost immediately went out of style and new words cropped up to take their place. The worst is when your PARENTS do it! I remembered that lesson when my own children adopted language I found objectionable. Rather then reprimand (which tended to encourage them to use the words) instead I started using them, especially in front of my kids' friends. OMG!!! Too humiliating!!!
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 5:57PM
That's it exactly. I rest my case.
Alan Brooks| 9.21.10 @ 10:56PM
Appleby gets it:
Merely say, don't you mean "intercourse" rather than f**k?
or instead of the 'c' bomb, say "you pudenda"
or instead of saying motherf**ker; they are told to say:
"you incestuous gentleman!"
Appleby, you are the cat's meow.
Chel| 9.23.10 @ 2:06PM
yeah, an i'm-so-superior condescending attitude, that's soooo much less offensive...
w/e
Andrew B| 9.21.10 @ 8:01AM
Like every other aspect of our current society, language shows our downward aspirations. Look at photos or movies from the first half of the 20th century and you will see even the poor wearing respectable clothing and, for the men, neckties.
People used to wish to aspire to be better: wealthier, older, more polished, better educated. People read "improving" books, went to night school, wore a coat and tie.
Now, everything is directed in the opposite direction. Hollywood stars scrupulously avoid glamour in favor of looking like hobos. Adults dress like teenagers. Young adults get their news, attitudes and worldview from a pair of snarky comedians of moderate talent.
It is no surprise that language should follow the rest of society toward the lowest common denominator.
cuban pete| 9.21.10 @ 8:54AM
You are correct sir.
Human beings are symbol makers. The way I dress for an occasion is a symbol for the way I feel about others and myself.
I wear a suit and tie to weddings, wakes and business meetings because I want to convey that this event is important.
Lyrics of popular songs written in the early and mid twentieth century could reference Shakespeare or a historic event and even we in the "great unwashed" would get it.
Also, you are generous in describing the snarky comedians as having moderate talent.
Miss Alabama| 9.21.10 @ 12:23PM
cuban pete,
A few remarks about your salient points:
I, too, consider the way we dress an extension of etiquette.
And I am with you on your point about the "lyrics of popular songs written in the early and mid twentieth century . . ." containing educated allusions and references that the listeners could understand.
The lyrics from that time were more intelligent than today's popular lyrics. Lyrics in those days were well-crafted and more poetic, and there was an appreciation of melody and harmony.
Just contrast the lyrics of today with the lyrics from the 30s and 40s to see how far we have, as a society, degenerated.
cuban pete| 9.21.10 @ 2:43PM
Thanks for your kind remarks.
Although I'm a Big Ten fan I have always admired Bear Bryant. I like Saban too.
Roll Tide!
E. White| 9.21.10 @ 4:48PM
Regarding cuban pete's remarks about football teams and coaches (he wants us to know he's a football fan), I cannot for the life of me see any connection to his earlier remarks concerning dress, song lyrics, and "snarky comedians," or Michael Johnson's theme of the debasement of language.
The schizophrenic thread of thought on this blog completely loses me.
Coherence from anonymous posters is an impossible thing to expect, I guess. Anonymous posters will say anything, no matter how reckless or absurd.
cuban pete| 9.21.10 @ 5:09PM
E.W.
I mentioned Alabama football as an aside because I was responding to Miss Alabama. The fact that I am a college football fan is unimportant but I'm glad that everybody knows .
I apologize that my comments were "reckless and absurd".
However, I am in awe of your Brobdingnagian intellect.
E. White| 9.21.10 @ 11:12PM
Sorry. I was reading from top, and some of the comments did not pertain to topic, and I just got confused. I failed to grasp that you were replying to Alabama's post. Now it makes sense. Yes, I am getting rather dense.
cuban pete| 9.22.10 @ 8:46AM
Thanks for your response. It is very much appreciated.
Best Regards
BackToBasics| 9.21.10 @ 9:17PM
Speaking of dress (and by extension, appearances) a few things I've noticed -
Men often wore suits during the 1930's depression even when they were standing in bread lines. Women wore dresses as they always did until about 1965.
A very large percentage of people today who are over 30-35 years old look like they are wearing potato sacks. The men's pants are too big and both the men and women who wear tee-shirts, and this is a large percentage, wear them disheveled and untucked.
Many pictures I see showing Chinese cities, such as people at shopping centers, show people dressed very nicely. I know the countryside there is a different story, but it looks like there is an attempt anyway for Chinese middle-class people to dress smartly; better than here.
Girls and women from about 10 years old to about 30 years old are dressed better than boys and men by far. I noticed too that in the 1990 - 2005 when "bell-bottoms" were in fashion again, it was only the girls and women who wore them. The boys and men wore pants and shorts that were too large and look like convict's clothing (or potato sacks, take your pick - TIC).
Women looked happier and more cheerful in movies that were made in the 1920's through about 1970. After that the women look increasingly hard and have lost a light smile. Increasingly when they do smile it looks stony and sometimes more like a sneer than a smile. Men always look harder but in movie productions they have taken a hit over the years too, but for them they just look more and more slovenly and low class.
Spanish women started wearing lower necklines first. The white women followed a few years later. I do not know if this was the case in the South American countries they came from. If it was not then my suspicion is that it is done to be more easily accepted by American men so that they could gain access to America. The American women followed later so as not to be "left out."
I do not claim to be in the height of fashion, these are just observations. But I at least keep my shirt tucked in and try to look a little bit presentable. I wear jeans but never blue jeans. When politics became more important for me I thought blue jeans looked too much like "Chairman Mao" uniforms to me and I decided not to wear them. To each his own on this and but it was important for me.
I do not say people cannot wear what they want, within reason, but I just make some general observations. My wife backs me up in this and says that it is so difficult to find nice clothing now even in the more upscale stores. She says everything that comes from China now looks like junk. Clothing and appearances are a reflection of how a society feels and what values they have. As we have gone downhill in so many cultural ways, our clothing has become less appealing too.
Miss Alabama| 9.21.10 @ 9:43AM
Well spoken, Andrew B. Thank you.
Loshooligan| 9.21.10 @ 10:14AM
This is because we have adults who have not grown up. We have children running our country. We have adult children raising children.
scotchieguy| 9.21.10 @ 10:24PM
Yes. Adult-children. This is the case w/ all yuppies, and especially that nut-job Clinton. He was the first "adult-child-in-chief" w/that stupid biting his lip and "ah feel your pain BS." This adult-child mentality, where parents want nothing more than to be their lil brat's buddy, is what will kill us. I didn't say it--Khruschev said it: "We don't need to worry about America, for she will surely kill herself."
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 6:08PM
Having been in theatre, it's about who you are dressing for. An ounce of image is worth a pound of substance. Come red carpet time, it's tuxedos and formals; or kilt and Prince Charlie if you're Mel Gibson.
AG| 9.23.10 @ 3:26AM
I sure as f*** don't get my f***ing news from those two s***-for-brains "comedians"! And I'm 26. Apologies for the sarcastic use of profanity. Though I find it does creep into my speech more often than not, I'd find it refreshing if Americans would worry about cleaning up their mouths more than cleaning up non-existent atmospheric "pollution".
Antonia| 9.23.10 @ 5:59PM
Great point. What an interesting way of looking at things. Wonder what came first- the juvenilization of adults in the movies, which lead to it being mimicked in reality, or vice-versa? Ill have to file this thought away till the kids are asleep.
A. Murray Kahn| 9.21.10 @ 8:20AM
I like a good grump as much as anyone, but jive talk has been around as long as talk. We get used to terms like "swell" or "screwed" or "zounds" (a stand-in for God's Wounds back in Jolly Olde). People like wordplay and if it has a scatological or sexual double meaning, so much the better. The tension between literate and street language will never go away. I had to laugh years ago when "uptight" burst on the scene as a sexual reference and was quickly converted to mean morally rigid by uptight people who missed the sexual allusion entirely. It seems as if the poor and the colorfully spoken will always be with us. That is not to say that this is not one of the most childishly vulgar popular cultures in recorded history. In fact, our popular culture sucks..
John Navratil| 9.21.10 @ 10:04AM
Heard once, the neologism is a pleasure. At the third or fourth hearing, it is no longer fun and it quickly becomes tedious. At this point, people become inured to it and the cliche' is born.
'like' is the new 'umm'.
Lazy Jack | 9.21.10 @ 8:45AM
I freely admit, with both glee and shame, that I have contributed to the accelerated degradation of the language. Once in a meeting that included a Japanese colleague, I used the acronym “WTF” to great effect. Almost immediately my friend was tapping those letters into his Sony pocket translator. When he failed to find an acceptable translation, he leaned over to his neighbor and secured the proper definition and immediately guffawed. There is little penance that can assuage my guilt at my corrupt influence on his previously exceptional language skills.
Upon reflection, though, my guilt is not mine alone, and certainly the popular media is only a part of the problem. Once upon a time I worked for a fortune 500 company so lousy with MBAs a person could not sneeze without hitting one. Once day, during a meeting attended by 8 people, four of which had the coveted masters in business administration, I took the liberty of counting the number of acronyms used during a period of conversation. I gave up after five minutes when the count went over one hundred of the sad little truncations, each uttered with the breathless solemnity of a knowing sage, three or four hundred mismatched letters of sound an fury amounting to… a pittance. Five minutes wasted by people educated to think that foreshortening the language made them sound brilliant, and of course, important. Why use a word full of meaning when two or three little letters cleverly arranged will do?
All I could think of was, “WTF are those business schools doing to our progeny?”
LOL as Nero Fiddles,
Lazy Jack
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 6:13PM
Ans. to ? Bravo Sierra.
Roger
Out
Martin Fish| 9.21.10 @ 8:53AM
Is the British use of "brilliant" not their equivalent to our "awesome"? Perhaps this is akin to grade creep in schools and universities?
ron james| 9.21.10 @ 9:30AM
Amen! When I speak with my British in laws for more than 10 seconds, the word brilliant is used in every other sentence. Their holiday was brilliant, their trip to the shops was brilliant, their last trip to the loo was brilliant. Please! don't even bring up our over use of the word awesome!
Occam's Tool| 9.21.10 @ 5:43PM
Don't forget the Anglicisms "Beauty" and "Sorted."
Don| 9.21.10 @ 8:54AM
It is more than the debasement of the language, it is the familiarization of the culture. Children talk to their parents as though they were talking with their school mates. The 20 something receptionist at the Doctor's office addresses the 70 year old by his first name. Business dress is only worn on sales calls and at job interviews (most of the time). There is a lack of respect for those we do not know by immediately treating them as long time family friends instead of with the courtesy of distance until both sides are willing to change the relationship.
Bill| 9.21.10 @ 9:06AM
It's all a load of shite.
Jack L| 9.21.10 @ 9:06AM
Recalling what the bartender said to the horse as it entered the bar, shouldn't that be WTLF?
RNDmom| 9.21.10 @ 9:08AM
"Eventually someone will do the book." or Eventually someone will write the book. My bad.
MikeBee| 9.21.10 @ 9:24AM
It's just like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, YOU KNOW?
John Navratiil| 9.21.10 @ 10:09AM
I, like, like 'like' as like an adjective, or, like whatever.
Heather| 9.21.10 @ 9:35AM
I am disinclined at this particular moment to care overly much about this situation = whatever. This is why the average vocabulary for US children and adults is on the decline.
PaulD| 9.21.10 @ 9:37AM
Edwin Newman fought the good fight over misuse of the English Language. We do, however, appear to be in a state of decline: nouns are used as verbs, "then" and "than" are used interchangeably, and editing seems to be a thing of the past. But then I remember that language, especially English, is living and constantly evolving; Shakespeare invented words as he saw fit and enriched our language tremendously. However, there is a difference between adding to the language and misusing it.
Appleby| 9.21.10 @ 3:00PM
"than" and "from" are also used interchanbeably. It's 'different FROM', not "different THAN'.
There is no such word as "complected" -- it's complexioned, although saying "he has a dark complexion" is better.
"Enthused" is a verb; "enthusiastic is an adjective". But how many people know the difference?
Incidentally, my British friends don't say "brilliant." They say "brill."
BackToBasics| 9.22.10 @ 2:09AM
I never like(d) it when Clinton, GW and Obam say, "Grow the economy." The first time I remember this phrase was with Clinton. Before this I remember the term "make the economy grow" or "cause the economy to grow" or "make the economy stronger."
The older style of phrases sound better to me and more gramatically correct.
MoeBlotz| 9.21.10 @ 9:38AM
The jargon of today gets a boost from media. The old print media used proper English,punctuation,and spelling. On any day one can see gross misspellings and grammatical errors on either television or in newspapers. The same perpetrators of the acronym also add unnecessary words by interjecting "that said,having said that",clarifying nothing.
KyMouse| 9.21.10 @ 9:41AM
Last night, while house-sitting for friends, I read their second-edition copy of Frances Trollope's "Domestic Manners of the Americans" (1832). I first read that excellent travel diary in paperback 20 years ago, and recommend it to anyone who wants an entertaining glimpse of early American language and customs.
I wonder, however, how many of today's readers would stick with Mrs. Trollope through two volumes of long sentences that should be savored slowly. How many would take the time, or have the knowledge, to translate the occasional tidbits that the author includes in French? Clearly, she expected her readers to understand them.
It's refreshing to realize that Mrs. Trollope didn't need a single OMG or misused "like" to express herself.
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 6:26PM
Also for you delectation, read the other Trollope; Antony. His Book of Snobs from the 1860's while repetitious is lends compliment and contrast to our polity through the proof that the more things change, the more they remain the same. We're just another cast of characters, but most are like sheep and go where they get pushed. It's a good time to be a goat, and resist.
mROSS| 9.21.10 @ 10:20AM
I'VE COME ACROOS A NEW ONE THIS WEEK...SAW " suss" IN PRINT TWICE. CAN ANYONBE INTERPRET THAT?
Humphry Dumfries| 9.21.10 @ 10:48AM
1. chiefly British : figure out —usually used with out
2. chiefly British : to inspect or investigate so as to gain more knowledge —usually used with out
Sheila| 9.21.10 @ 11:33AM
See Humphry Dumfries' comment. All my flatmates used "suss" when I lived in England in 1980, and considered my bewilderment just more evidence of my "odd" American speech.
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 6:30PM
That reminds me of my first night in Scotland, when the hostess of our group told me, "if you need anything, just come to my room and knock me up."
If only I'd had the energy after 35 hours on a stretch 8 and old buses.
cdc| 9.21.10 @ 10:45AM
Next thing you know some ditzy politician will inadvertantly mash up a couple of words and consider herself a wordsmith.
Melvin| 9.21.10 @ 10:54AM
The American Spectator, and many of those who regularly post have mentioned one glaring point that stands out.
Two things that stand out. Due to technology generations of Americans are one lazy to pick up a book and read or they do not have the capability to read let alone comprehend what they reading.
I struck up a conversation with a government school teach one day, and she responded to me if parents knew how little high school students could read, they would immediately revolt.
It is not that these students cannot read the words, they don't understand the words or know how to use them in a coherent sentence.
Look at some in the cultural war. Some of these kids have been so reduced that they communicate with a language that more resembles grunts and squeaks.
MikeBee| 9.21.10 @ 11:00AM
My father, who was raised in pre-World-War II Shanhai, China, and taught by British clergymen, always said that if you can speak the English language well, you will always have a job. Today, as an employer, I refuse to hire anyone who cannot communicate at least adequately.
Brian B| 9.21.10 @ 11:20AM
--As I grumbled unintelligibly, my grandson held up three fingers and rotated his hand to the left. The "W" became an "E", shorthand for "whatever."
I assume American adults will be doing the "whatever" sign to each other eventually, just as they picked up the l-word. ("Whatever" as a spoken word regrettably seems here to stay.)--
I'm afraid the author is considerably behind the times.
One of my daughter's teenage friends informs me that the in-crowd holds up three fingers to make a "W", then rotates to an "E", inverts to make an "M" and then applies the the thumb and forefinger to the forehead, thereby telling one's interlocutor "Whatever, major loser".
At that point I'm afraid I contributed to the general decline of civilization by using three horizontal fingers to form and "E" followed by two horizontal digits making an "F" to let her know her dig was an "Epic Fail".
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 11:29AM
Most of this Alphajunk is the byproduct of texting, which is something one should never do, and is totally alien to me, but the coinage and redefinition of the descending generations of sub-slang are social weaponry. Their purpose is to conceal meaning from those who are not in on or familiar with the use of such terms. We just had at it a few weeks back over that bastardized ghetto vulgate called ebonics. But one must keep up with the zeit geist. Read Charles Murray's Prole Models in the think pieces of WSJ. H. L. Mencken pray for us.
Billy Floyd| 9.21.10 @ 11:34AM
It's Newton Minow.
Albert| 9.21.10 @ 11:41AM
Mr. Johnson should check out the movie "Idiocracy" by Mike Judge, which is really about today's culture and language, not 500 years in the future. Speaking proper language is indeed a dying art, with only a few of us left to hold on to it. Someday, no doubt, the "American Spectator" will be thought of the same way we think of Latin. Sermo datur cunctis; animi sapientia paucis.
Killerman| 9.21.10 @ 1:14PM
I did have to look it up..... "Speech is given to many; intelligence to few" Me like.
As forever was and shall always be.
Bill| 9.21.10 @ 1:32PM
I particularly liked the courtroom scene and the scene where the protagonist gets his arm tattooed for a credit rating as "Not Sure."
Patzer| 9.21.10 @ 12:51PM
Another example of a word being used out of proportion is "amazing." It's usually used by females under 30 with a particularly nasal inflection. It's all I need to hear in order to not take the speaker seriously.
Bill | 9.21.10 @ 1:33PM
My pet peeve is the all-too-common use of the word "incredible" for "amazing" or "great."
Toto| 9.21.10 @ 2:19PM
My skin crawls when I say thank you to a sales clerk, and he responds by saying, "No problem!"
This juvenile response suggests that I, the customer, could be "a problem."
hardcard| 9.21.10 @ 1:02PM
obama..........WTF
Bill| 9.21.10 @ 1:34PM
Not to mention thumb and foreginger extended against the forehead, followed by the "W" and "E" finger signs.
Bill| 9.21.10 @ 1:35PM
Oops, I meant to say "forefinger."
Bob Miller| 9.21.10 @ 1:13PM
People with nothing to say deserve the worst possible vocabulary.
Interested Conservative| 9.21.10 @ 1:27PM
LOL
Dave Williams| 9.21.10 @ 1:52PM
Michael, I'm with you almost all of the way, but as a former resident of New England, I have to defend "wicked." It's been around quite a long time, and it's a cute verbal sign used by the inhabitants to differentiate "us" from "them." Does anybody remember the SNL skit from a couple of decades back where it cropped up repeatedly? Seeing obvious New Yorkers use the word was just....strange. Anyway, I hope you'll relent a bit on that one.
Bob Miller| 9.21.10 @ 2:31PM
My mother was born in Boston and, through the 1960's, I never heard any of her family members there using "wicked" in this sense. Nor do I remember hearing it from people I met while in college there (1966-1972) So when did it actually start?
Rich Rostrom| 9.21.10 @ 6:33PM
At least 15 years ago.
I distinctly remember seeing an ad for a used Macintosh IIfx computer. The IIfx was sold 1990-1992; at the time it was Apple's top-of-the-line unit, running at a blazing 40 Mhz.
The ad (not more than a few years later) described a used IIfx as "wicked fast and ready to rock!"
Steve A| 9.21.10 @ 2:00PM
dude, this article was wicked awesome.
rc| 9.21.10 @ 2:33PM
I've noticed that British celebs use "brilliant" the same way Americans use "awesome".
Sheryl| 9.21.10 @ 2:54PM
I think things started the rapid decline in this area about ten or more years ago when that movie with John Candy came out wherein a child said that something or other "sucked." It caused something of a scandal at the time, but now everybody and his brother, including teeny children, use this expression constantly and no one bats an eye. It still makes me cringe. I wonder if people realize what this expression actually means, or at least what it originally meant. It is incredibly vulgar, and its common usage has lead, as these things almost always do, to ever more crude and coarse language being mainstreamed. And it seems to be EVERYWHERE these days.
Fronzipop| 9.21.10 @ 3:54PM
In the 19th century, two common expressions, closely related to each other, was that something "sucked wind" and that the one doing the sucking was a "blowhard". I would not be surprised to find the 'suck' and 'blow' are derived from that.
DeeJay| 9.21.10 @ 4:08PM
Coded hand signals? Abbreviations? Who speaks like this ? I certainly do not. I hope that all these gimmicks die out. What if they end up being the only English that survives. That would be confusing don't ya think?
DAve| 9.21.10 @ 4:31PM
This movement really took off when the academics in schools decided to legitimize ebonics.
Kids use this textspeak now to hide their inability to spell correctly.
Just as so many used ebonics as a rationalization to not learn grammar with the blessing of our "betters".
It's not a progression of English, it's a rejection of English in favor of Ebonics.
And as they can't get a job since they aren't even fluent in the one language they know, off to Welfare they go...
Petronius| 9.21.10 @ 6:52PM
'Tis a delight to confound the guttersnipe with authentic Elizabethan usage. For he will take you to be possessed of an mental illness which he doth believe to be an aireborne contagion and thence shall he flee with all speed.
RCV| 9.21.10 @ 4:58PM
This has been the story of English since it began its linguistic life.
The One We've Been Waiting For| 9.21.10 @ 11:01PM
We're buying shrimp, RCV. You guys really are exhausted defending me. Nothing about the summer of recovery, or wind farms, the Chevy Volt, how bad it would be if I wasn't around playing golf? Nitwit is over on the other channel doing battle and look at you. You should have voted Nader. He hates the USA worse than I do. He was your man but you didn't have the guts to vote for him. Don't ask, don't tell forever, baby.
Kristen Willard| 9.21.10 @ 5:05PM
I have to defend "dis." This is listed in my copy of the Oxford English Dictionary with a first use date of 1567. It is not a truncated form of any other word.
Thanks for your fabulous article. I'm sending it to my daughter studying English...in London. Scary!
Occam's Tool| 9.21.10 @ 5:48PM
Sorry, Kristen---my OED has "diss" as an informal usage---"to speak disrepectfully to someone." Now, it can be used formally as "reversal, not"---such as disrespect. It can also be used as the name of the city of Hell in Dante's Inferno, which is my favorite usage.
GW| 9.21.10 @ 6:06PM
--"Awesome" has the British laughing at us again
The British need to take care of their native tongue themselves before worrying about the slang of Americans. Google Cockney Rhyming Slang to find out that "ones (and twos)" means shoes, "apples (and pears)" means stairs, "cream crackered" means tired (because it rhymes with "nackered", or tired), and "Barnett (Fair)" means hair. So it isn't just Americans who have slang, it is ubiquitous throughout the Anglo world.
RCV| 9.21.10 @ 6:52PM
If you want a good, witty, informative read on the subject, pick up Bill Bryson's "The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way".
The One We've Been Waiting For| 9.21.10 @ 11:05PM
We're buying shrimp, RCV. This is a classic example of Stockholm syndrome. You need to get off the computer for a couple days and get your mojo back. These people are idiots, Nazis, the worst and now you are recommending books. I read a book about golf one time. Don't ask, don't tell forever, baby.
Marco Gonzalez Ambriz | 9.23.10 @ 5:45PM
Actually, Bryson's book is one of the worst ever written on the history of the English language. It's filled with bizarre assertions on languages such as French, Spanish or Italian, indicating that Bryson didn't bother doing the most basic research. In fact, most of his sources for that book have been discredited for decades (i.e. Mario Pei). For a much better book on the subject, written by a true linguist, try John McWhorter's The Power of Babel.
Osamas's Pajamas| 9.21.10 @ 11:14PM
But so who give's a rat's ass what the British think?
Osamas Pajamas| 9.21.10 @ 11:15PM
But so who give's a rat's ass what the British think?
GavInTucson| 9.21.10 @ 11:35PM
Has anyone else noticed that the use of adverbs has declined rather quickly over the years and that adjectives are now being used in their place?
Example:
"Get it done quickly" became "Get it done quick."
It's a simple example, but if you listen closely (as opposed to listen close), you'll notice their absence.
If you ask the average college aged kid if they've ever heard of an adverb, you'll likely get the ol' deer in the headlights look.
Diane L Asp| 9.22.10 @ 12:57AM
"You new novel is awesome,"
Thanks for this wonderful piece and thanks also to the wonderful comments, especially from Alan Brooks at 10:49PM
Dave | 9.22.10 @ 7:42AM
Actually, as a OSF (old senior f--t), some of the early abbreviations I came across as I moved toward grayer beard status, while trying to maintain a little "hipness the hood", were actually kind of amusing. One afternoon while mowing the front lawn, one of the neighbor kids came shufflin' (with attitude) down street wearing a blue sweatshirt with, what I thought ... was some kind of major college logo printed across the front. As he got a little closer, my new glasses brought the logo into fuller view ...
F.U.U. (with approiate digital mascot.)
In the end, I kind of snickered and realized that, while I was now 65 and a little longer in the tooth, I was still hip enough to decipher some basic street code and ... 'knowhatitbesayin'
As the kid shuffled on (still with the attitude), I yelled out - "Say dude, that school 'ya got there gotta' be totally fly. I mean, I'm down wit' what 'yer sayin'. knowwhati'msayin?"
(crickets) ...
Well ... that little slice of attempted senior hipness couldn't have gotten a worse reaction if I'd have weighed 300 pounds and was doing my lawn in an Elvis jump suit.
I shoulda' jus' kept mah fouf shut.
knowhati'msayin'? thankverrymush."
Now ... I need some cocoa!
Career Trooper| 9.22.10 @ 8:45AM
I believe that the British equivalent of "awesome" is "smashing". As in: " We had a simply smashing time at the party. Followed by a bloody great go at the pub, eh what?"
youngish person| 9.22.10 @ 12:46PM
like so many articles I read lately, this should be renamed to Old Person Dislikes New Thing
GavInTucson| 9.23.10 @ 1:21AM
"Old" person (aged 38) translation:
"Like so many articles I've read lately, this should be renamed, 'Old Person Dislikes New Thing.'"
Capitalization, verb conjugation, commas, and periods for the win (oh, I meant FTW)
Mel Torme| 9.23.10 @ 1:22PM
RO, Gav. (Right On!) That youngish whippersnapper is down for the count.
BTW, I could kick most of the Spectator.com writers a new one on their grammer multiple times per article if I were so inclined. They are especially bad about writing non-sentences. Even as supposed "journalists"!
Mel Torme| 9.23.10 @ 1:25PM
The last part got left out due to the website software figuring I was up to no good using the greater-than and less-than symbols (it figured they were HTML).
Again (with "(" where my LT signs were.):
RO, Gav. (Right On!) That youngish whippersnapper is down for the count.
BTW, I could kick most of the Spectator.com writers a new one on their grammer multiple times per article if I were so inclined. They are especially bad about writing non-sentences. Even as supposed "journalists"! (----- See, like that. (---- There's another one. (---- That one was a real sentence. (---- Same there. (---- oops, I did it again.
I mean, like, WTF IWWTP?
Perplexed in PDX| 9.22.10 @ 3:28PM
"fashion patios"??? Yowza... are you sure that you didn't mean "patois"?
gruhn| 9.23.10 @ 12:17AM
yawn.
Have a think about http://www.amazon.com/Unfoldin.....amp;sr=8-5 if you feel like moving beyond this.
Jim| 9.23.10 @ 1:17AM
HW Fowler! Pray for us!
Luis| 9.23.10 @ 2:02AM
You forgot "hella". It may still be confined mostly in California but may be drifting eastward.
GT | 9.23.10 @ 4:23AM
Give it rest - soi-disant arbiters of what is and what is not infra dig., in our beautiful 9and anarchic) language, should sod off (q.v.,) and live in France, where they stultify the development of their lingo (q.v.) by handing it to a bunch of bureaucrats. So they've yet to learn that it's more efficient to do away with silly conjugations for tenses and just move to a module structure (C will go (j'irai), I did go (j'allais), I went (je suis allé), I would go (j'irais)) - the Froggoes have to spend half their mental effort conuugating a sentence (even if it becomes second nature, it is still non-zero wasted effort).
Our tongue is beautiful 9and efficient) precisely because self-styled language-arbiters are ignored by the market.
So, like, whatEVerrr; when I read this I was like "No way!" and the story was all "Way." and I was like "ZOMG... WTF?" and then I was totally like "STFU" - FTW.
Cheerio
GT
Jason| 9.23.10 @ 9:50AM
Dear Mr. Johnson,
You sound old and out-of-touch. I first saw the "loser" sign when I was in high school, 20 years ago. Also, "WTF" means "What the fuck?"
Sincerely,
Me
Linguist, Not Grammarian| 9.23.10 @ 11:38AM
You bet I teach this new vocabulary in my ESL classes. Otherwise my adult students would be unable to understand or reply to co-workers, children, store clerks, friends, etc.
rigdum_funidos| 9.23.10 @ 4:47PM
the only appropriate comment to the ubiquitous "have a nice day" is "no thanks, I have other plans."
Jim G| 9.23.10 @ 9:01PM
How about most everyone being interviewed on television responding to every question with "absolutely" or "absolutely not"? What ever happened to "yes" and "no"?