do + noun, whatebaa, shokupan

[Wilson Gray]

On Jul 3, 2005, at 3:32 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:

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> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Douglas G. Wilson" <douglas at NB.NET>
> Subject:      Re: do + noun, whatebaa, shokupan
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>
>> My partner reported today a customer who said something like "I'll
>> just do a
>> coffee". His employee said that's a very popular construction right
>> now.
>
> I asked a couple of (Pittsburgh) students of my acquaintance. One of
> them
> has been using this "do" for "have" etc. routinely (e.g., "I think
> I'll do
> a burrito") for a couple of years to my certain knowledge: he says
> it's his
> impression that this usage has been current although not very
> prevalent for
> as long as he can remember. [I have the same impression: it seems to me
> that "do" as in "Let's do a pizza" was natural enough 40 years ago,
> although not as routine as in "Let's do some dope" etc.]

I agree with you.

-Wilson Gray

>  These few students
> do not perceive this usage as currently particularly in vogue; the one
> student who uses this "do" routinely is regarded as exceptional in this
> respect (once I bring up the subject).
>
>> My partner also reported to me that "whatever" as in "I'm not
>> interested in
>> your opinion" is pronounced "whatebaa".
>
> On the Web there are numerous instances of "whateva" (cf. "gangsta"
> etc.
> etc.). Neither I nor my student acquaintances have encountered the
> version
> with "b". [To my naive eye this has the look of a Japanese version ...
> is
> there some manga/anime character who says this maybe?]
>
> -- Doug Wilson
>