Talking Like a 4 Year Old

[Tombs]

In the midwest people have been adding T to words that don't have a T for so long it about makes up for it.

How many times have you heard "acrosst?"

 

[MrSmitty]

I have said this very thing to my wife...what the hell happened to the "T" in words, I've even heard it in commercials.........and I hate Aks, and Cray-Cray......

 

[thompal]

I've been noticing more and more that adults are dropping the "t" in the middle of the word. The first couple of times I heard it, I passed it off as a speech impediment, but I've been hearing it more and more by different people, mostly on tv. The latest is when watching the local weather, the meteorologist said, "this is impor'unt". A few times I've heard button, pronounced as "bu'un". Can someone tell me what is going on? Is this being taught in school? Are these people from other worlds?

I've noticed this as well. There's a commercial on TV where a female sings the jingle, and starts "things are ge'ing clearer." She enunciates the rest of the words with the very precise enunciation common in jingles, but that one idiotic contraction of "getting" in the beginning of it just really bothers me every time I hear it.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Has no one spent any significant time in the South? I grew up with people of all colors speaking what ya’ll would call gibberish.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

If there’s any other way to interpret this besides “White people normally speak proper English, and when the don’t, they’re acting like POCs,” I’d like to hear it.

Nothing as sinister as that Kut. One need look no further than hip-hop culture to see examples.

 

[funeralweb]

Proper pronunciation/enunciation, spelling and grammar are somehow racist.

 

[Leo]

The dumbing down of America has been going on since the 80's and more so a faster pace lately.
I heard Baltimore, I believe, will not longer fail any kids, they all pass on to the next grade.

This was noticed and accurately predicted in 1987, I recommend this book.

The Closing of the American Mind​

Book by Allan Bloom

As Chancellor of Cornell, he noted that the number one group against affirmative action students was the Black students that had already EARNED their way into higher learning. They recognized that the minute a slacker gets acceptance via government race mandate, all their hard work was made worthless.

 

[WebSnyper]

Has no one spent any significant time in the South? I grew up with people of all colors speaking what ya’ll would call gibberish.

Grew up in the south, born and raised, but I've heard as much mangling of the English language in other places as well. I do think that the permutations I've heard in the south are usually more interesting.

That said, I'm not sure I've heard what the OP is referring to in the initial post of this thread.

 

[cobber]

Remember that spelling is a graphic depiction of language, which is oral. It's not like language was given to us on a Rosetta Stone and we're bound by spellings. All sorts of anomalies we take for granted, like the silent -gh- in many English words.

What these speakers are doing is substituting a glottal stop for a -tt-, but we already largely do that to a degree, unless you're a person who pronounces "button" as but-ton. The double -tt- in this case is really a signal to speakers that the -u- is short, and not that one has to pronounce both -t-'s.

And pronunciation changes over time. Or else we would still be speaking Elizabethan English...

See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonemic_orthography

 

[thunderchicken]

Has no one spent any significant time in the South? I grew up with people of all colors speaking what ya’ll would call gibberish.

Heck it's just more local dialect. Southern pronunciation vs that of folks from the Dakota's or the Nor'east such as Boston. The big difference is social media has many of the mindless repeating what their favorite celebrities are saying and doing.

Right wrong or indifferent much of that comes from the hip hop culture and those of "reality" shows. We all have our opinions of these things but far too many seem to look up to these examples

 

[Bugzilla]

If there’s any other way to interpret this besides “White people normally speak proper English, and when the don’t, they’re acting like POCs,” I’d like to hear it.

It seems like you are bringing race into the conversation. The original post has no mention of race. Blacks have contributed with their slang has have every race. (The scene in Airplane comes to mind, which I still think is a hilarious part of that movie). To continue with the original post, this also bleeds over to written grammar. Most here appear to use good written grammar, ever with the archaic auto correct this site has. I agree it is part of the lack of a sound education system.

 

[Cameramonkey]

It seems like you are bringing race into the conversation. The original post has no mention of race. Blacks have contributed with their slang has have every race. (The scene in Airplane comes to mind, which I still think is a hilarious part of that movie). To continue with the original post, this also bleeds over to written grammar. Most here appear to use good written grammar, ever with the archaic auto correct this site has. I agree it is part of the lack of a sound education system.

Are you new here? Its what he does.
POC shot and killed by police? Its because he was black. It had nothing to do that he had outstanding warrants, resisting arrest, threatening officers with a knife, etc. Its ONLY because he was black. If he were white they would have said "Sorry about that old chap. You dont fancy a ride to the station? Alrighty then. Go on about your way, and when you decide you would like to see the judge and pay the penalty for your crime, just stop by the station and we'll take care of it then. Have a good day. "

 

[BE Mike]

I expect poor grammar and enunciation from uneducated folks who have never traveled, but when I start hearing it from people with college degrees, it puzzles me. When smart people become educated and are trying to convey a message on electronic media, it seems like they'd modify the way they talk. They are examples to the young. Having said that, I just heard someone on a British tv show who dropped their "t's" in the middle of a word, but they weren't professional talking heads. People of the south who simply have a slight accent are not taken seriously by a lot of folks although they may have Einstein's IQ. POC have always had an impact upon our culture, just like other groups. That's why the USA was always touted as the great melting pot. Just an afterthought. Maybe people are starting to talk like they text! Ugh!

 

[Leo]

I noticed a difference as I sat in the same classes at the same desegregated schools as any other students. Some spoke with perfect diction, Some spoke coherently and respectfully. Some spoke only the simplest of statements, seldom constructing a proper sentence. It was in direct proportion to how lazy the students were. The laziest spoke like they had a mouth full of gravel. They left complete syllables out of individual words while running several words together. I am going with lazy and disrespectful.

 

[BigRed]

I don't get it either, but if needed, I can deliver. Went thru this.

South Carolina Man Accused In 4 Murders Arrested After 300-Person Manhunt

Tyler Terry is in custody...

www.fitsnews.com

Some animals just need to be put down.

 

[BigRed]

Even educated people cant speak fluent, proper english words. Just watch Dr. Caine's covid updates. In the last update, she added a letter into the middle of a word. I had to do a doubletake. It was almost like she said "edumicated". That kind of thing. I think she added a T where it didnt exist.

I dont recall the exact word, and I'm not about to subject myself to that press briefing to tell you exactly what it was. Maybe somebody else here caught it.

Black, white, red, brown... Im seeing everyone start to do it.

Caine is nothing but another worthless idiotic bureaucrat. She always talks like she has a mouth full of **** for good reason. She is full of ****.

This does not shock me at all.

 

[churchmouse]

Has no one spent any significant time in the South? I grew up with people of all colors speaking what ya’ll would call gibberish.

I love those exchanges myself. Trying to decipher them is fun. I have friends that are from the south living here. They always have a southern drawl but are understandable easy enough. If they go home for even just a week man it is crazy how they revert.

I think what is being said here is we are getting lazy. Text speak is bleeding out into society and yes I see it/.

 

[Kutnupe14]

It seems like you are bringing race into the conversation. The original post has no mention of race. Blacks have contributed with their slang has have every race. (The scene in Airplane comes to mind, which I still think is a hilarious part of that movie). To continue with the original post, this also bleeds over to written grammar. Most here appear to use good written grammar, ever with the archaic auto correct this site has. I agree it is part of the lack of a sound education system.

I’m clear on what the OP meant; which was a general observation. It’s those who followed up, that were the ones doing what you accused me of. I simply addressed that issue. Perhaps you didn’t notice the mentioning of “racist,” “Ebonics,” nor “POCs” in the comments before mine.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I love those exchanges myself. Trying to decipher them is fun. I have friends that are from the south living here. They always have a southern drawl but are understandable easy enough. If they go home for even just a week man it is crazy how they revert.

I think what is being said here is we are getting lazy. Text speak is bleeding out into society and yes I see it/.

When you to the areas where the country folk call the country, that’s when understanding is a challenge.

 

[WebSnyper]

I love those exchanges myself. Trying to decipher them is fun. I have friends that are from the south living here. They always have a southern drawl but are understandable easy enough. If they go home for even just a week man it is crazy how they revert.

I think what is being said here is we are getting lazy. Text speak is bleeding out into society and yes I see it/.

It is definitely easy to slip right back into it.

Personally I find the people I believe to be the most intelligent overall (and that word can mean many things... Not just book smart) are the ones who understand context well, and when certain language is appropriate. They are the ones who can cuss like a sailor in certain social contexts and yet represent themselves appropriately in other situations.

However, it's also funny to see when someone is trying to force it for an effect. It's just a different thing than understanding context and it coming more naturally.