LL-L "Grammar" 2001.10.30 (07) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 30.OCT.2001 (07) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Sandy Fleming [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Grammar"

> From: Colin Wilson <lcwilson at starmail.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2000.10.29 (02) [E]
>
> In passing, can anyone explain why so many (especially young) people
> nowadays say "I was like" instead of "I said", e.g "I was like,
> why are they doing this?".

I think this has been around for a long time - it seems to
me that my mother and her friends (like me and my Scots-
speaking contemporaries) particularly used it when mimicking
someone, eg:

"...an he wis like," [...puts on deep, pompous voice...] "'Whae dis she
think she is...'"

Used in this way it's a fairly literal construction. Perhaps
it's become such a common idiom that you're starting to hear
it as an ordinary speech tag now?

Another special speech tag I've noticed in Scots is "this is me".
Again, it seems to be used when a certain amount of re-enactment
is involved, but after the speech, rather than before it, perhaps
when the person has thought the enactment was enough to indicate
who was speaking, but on second thoughts decides it needs explaining:

"'But ye canna dae that kin o...' This is me."

Sandy
http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'

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