[Ads-l] 9to5Mac: "salty" in the wild, by coinkidink

[Z Rice]

It is not limited in any way to Philadelphia, Chicago, and DC.

On Fri, Jun 5, 2015 at 11:19 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: 9to5Mac: "salty" in the wild, by coinkidink
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> My use of the word "revival" in the earlier thread on "salty" was
> based on research I had done for my Wall Street Journal column
> (http://bit.ly/saltybz) after "salty" had been named Most Likely to
> Succeed in the 2014 ADS WOTY voting. I had spoken at length to Pearl
> Shavzin, who nominated "salty" in the category and has extensively
> studied the fighting game community (FGC). As I note in the column,
> FGC is a racially diverse subculture (compared to other gaming
> subcultures), which may help to explain its recent rise.
>
> From what I gathered, until recently the "bitter/angry/upset" meaning
> of "salty" was in continued use in just a few cities: Philadelphia,
> Chicago, and possibly DC. Philly in particular seems to be a place
> where "salty" held on as regional slang -- see the quote from
> 15-year-old Nisha Michelle I included from this Philadelphia Inquirer
> article:
>
>
> http://articles.philly.com/2014-02-20/entertainment/47493528_1_dialect-william-labov-slang
>
> If I underestimated the extent to which "salty" has remained in common
> use in BE, then I humbly apologize for the mischaracterization.
>
> On Fri, Jun 5, 2015 at 4:14 PM, Z Rice wrote:
> >
> > I would not agree that "holla" is a "revival", as I've heard it since I
> was
> > a child, my father has heard it since he was a child, and it was spoken
> my
> > grandparent (who is now pushing 100 y/o) and my great-grandparents (who
> are
> > now deceased). It also occurs regularly in the slavery narratives. So it
> is
> > not a "revival". It is a part of the everyday speech of the afro-american
> > population. I use the term hesitantly because I am speaking specifically
> of
> > the Black population that is native to this country (culturally,
> > historically, etc).
> >
> > The difference is that it is now considered "stylish" or "trendy" by
> white
> > youths. But this culture and speech does not suddenly come into
> existence -
> > nor is it "revived" - when "discovered" by whites. That was the
> implication
> > in Zimmer's (?) email and we find it all too often in such media.
> >
> > I'm not even convinced that the first "salty" meaning that he provided is
> > even related to the afro-american usage of "salty". I have no reason to
> > believe that.
> >
> > On Fri, Jun 5, 2015 at 9:44 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
> >
> > > Among comments WRT Apple's being threatened with legal action for being
> > > "anti-competitive," because it demands a 30% cut from any other company
> > > wanting to push product by participating in the so-called "Apple
> > > ecosystem," forcing such company to take a 30% loss in gross profit or
> to
> > > charge a fee 30% higher than Apple's, clearly a gigantic kick in the
> arse
> > > for, e.g. Spotify, were:
> > >
> > > A: "Apple=E2=80=99s response to this should be: You don=E2=80=99t agree
> > > wit=
> > > h what we
> > > charge, easy: remove your app from our ecosystem and go fuck yourself."
> > >
> > > B. "Are all Apple fanboiz so _salty_?"
> > >
> > > (Judging by other responses only trivially distinct from A's, the
> answer to
> > > this question is a resounding "Yes!!!")
> > >
> > > IMO, this kind of thing represents a spread and not a "revival," since,
> > > IME, "salty" has never not been alive and kicking in the BE "slang
> > > ecosystem," to coin a phrase. OTOH, I would agree, were anyone to
> assert
> > > it, that, e.g. "ADJ like that" or "holler"/"holla" are revivals. I've
> known
> > > that there's a song with the title, "It's Tight Like That," since God
> > > stretched out on the Seventh Day, but only relatively recently have I
> > > actually *heard* "ADJ like that." Back in the day, "holler"/"holla" was
> > > ordinary - in the mouth of my mother - b. 1913 - and in the mouths of
> other
> > > ladies elderly like that. But, naturally, you wouldn't go about the
> 'hood
> > > talking like yo' mama.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org