LL-L: "Language varieties" LOWLANDS-L, 18.JAN.2001 (07) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 18.JAN.2001 (07) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Criostoir O Ciardha [paada_please at yahoo.co.uk]
Subject: LL-L: "Language varieties" (was "Grammar") LOWLANDS-L,
18.JAN.2001 (02)

A chairde,

Thank you for your contribution, John.

I have noticed the spread of [sht] for [st] in a
minority of young people in the Midlands, but it is
never a "native element". Its origin is, as is usually
the case, in American culture, specifically - and this
is uncertain - Californianisms. The context of [sht]
is always ironic and is associated with "joke
pronunciation": where I have observed it, it is a
"ridiculism" - that is a pronunciation intended to
lighten the tone of a conversation and indicate that
one is "being silly". I have heard "shtoopid"
[shtju:pid] (with a rising tone) in Nottingham amongst
youths heavily into American culture, typically among
skateboarders. It is meant to express wild disbelief
and incredulity: If someone says trivia the speaker
may respond with "that's shtoopid!" i.e., "That's
ridiculous."

However my reaction is that as the "Slanglish" of a
typical group its appearance is but temporary. It is
certainly not being accepted as a loan from American
English: in fact amongst most youths those who use
such Americanisms - at least from my own experience -
tend to be viewed as somewhat vacuous insofar as they
resort to employing "American humour" and "American
modes" of acting. This is based upon the stereotype -
widely held in my home town and throughout England -
that Americans are somewhat simple, naive and "poorly
cultured". This type of inferiorisation of the United
States has a long history in England and particularly
in the area where I grew up.

Thankfully I don't listen to the Archers - wrong
political context for me *laughs* - but I'm aware that
the soap attempts to cronstruct a type of "dialect"
for its characters to use in imitation or parody of
agricultural life in (specifically) a
Cambridge/Lincoln or Norfolk culture area.

In the context of the Americanisation of Nottingham
youth, I have noted there is an increased tendency to
use Americanisms such as the suffixial "and stuff" and
a strong trend toward the institution of American
usage of "like" and "so", as in:

1) "He was, like, really mad, and stuff"
   (He was exceptionally angry)
2) "I was *so*, like, 'that did not happen.'"
   (I didn't believe it had happened)

(In Long Eaton English the sentences might be:

3) "Ee woh raedgin' tuh fuck, laik."
   (lit. "He were raging to fuck, like...")
4) "Ah kunnt fuckin' believe enie on ih..."
   (lit. "I couldn't fucking believe any of it...")

[swearing, and particularly the use of "fuck" as a
kind of adjectival intensifier, is a peculiar hallmark
of L.E.E and one that presents its speakers with many
unfortunate complications where this integral is not
recognised and the non-L.E.E speaker takes "offence"])

These usages tend to reflect socio-economic positions.
So far as I understand, lower-middle-class youths and
those attached to Californian American culture
(whether through pop music or television) are far more
likely to display this "Slanglish". Americanisms have
not penetrated greatly - if at all - into local
variants such as Long Eaton English or other
working-class varieties, even where there are strong
friendship networks between L.E.E-speaking proletarian
youths and American-influenced middle-class individuals or
groups.

Go raibh maith agaibh,

Críostóir.

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