Yeah, Seattle

[AAllan at AOL.COM]

According to Jim "the Mad Monk" Crotty's 1997 book, _How to Talk American_,
"the most important and tricky piece of Seattle vernacular" is: "yeah."
He adds: "It's almost _Fargo_-esque but different (not as dorky, almost
surfer-like) and best understood by example. 'So you got mugged in New York?'
'Yeah I did.' 'She is a total fox.' 'Yeah she is.'"

I have two questions: 1. Is this really a distinguishing feature of Seattle
(youth?) vernacular? and
2. what exactly is it? A matter of intonation, of pronunciation, of placement
in discourse, of frequency of use?

A writer for the Seattle Times, Jean Godden, included this item in a column
on Crotty's book without further comment, thereby implicitly agreeing with
it, I suppose, but not helping the explanation.

Thanks - Allan Metcalf