Speaking of...speaking
A postscript to my commentary on the Twilight series. Another reason I appreciate these books is because they feature teenagers who can speak. Eloquently.
I'm not knocking the teens I know in real life. Most of them have an admirable grasp of the English language. But if you've ever seen the monosyllabic morons who star on shows such as "The Hills," (not to say I don't love that show) you understand my frustration. Here's a dialogue sample from "The Hills."
Monosyllabic Moron #1: (flipping hair) "I was so...like..."
Monosyllabic Moron #2: (flipping hair) "I mean... I know!"
The really sad thing is that the above conversation could serve as a major plot turning point in the show.
Meanwhile, Edward and Bella -- the hero and heroine of the Twilight series -- actually know how to talk. There are lots of reasons to crush on the dark, brooding, dashing Edward, but he had me at "unequivocally."
I'm not knocking the teens I know in real life. Most of them have an admirable grasp of the English language. But if you've ever seen the monosyllabic morons who star on shows such as "The Hills," (not to say I don't love that show) you understand my frustration. Here's a dialogue sample from "The Hills."
Monosyllabic Moron #1: (flipping hair) "I was so...like..."
Monosyllabic Moron #2: (flipping hair) "I mean... I know!"
The really sad thing is that the above conversation could serve as a major plot turning point in the show.
Meanwhile, Edward and Bella -- the hero and heroine of the Twilight series -- actually know how to talk. There are lots of reasons to crush on the dark, brooding, dashing Edward, but he had me at "unequivocally."
posted by Deana Nall @ 1:17 PM
4 Comments:
At Mon Jul 21, 06:57:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
Deana,
You hit on a pet peeve of mine! I work in our church's community center and see our youth group regularly. Most of these kids are very bright , funny and enjoyable to be around. But, I swear, I want to ban the word "like" from the English language. I hope they can reign it in while in a interview someday.
I also want to tell these kids this is not fresh or cool - people were talking this way in the '80s. (Note the absence of an apostrophe - I have to fight the urge!).
Carrie
At Mon Jul 21, 07:32:00 AM,
Anonymous said…
So true! It got so bad here that husband wouldn't listen to daughter if she used the word "like". It became the new "bad word" of our house! LOL
Sometimes you've just gotta, like, put your, like, foot down.
Laura
At Mon Jul 21, 10:43:00 AM,
Leecy said…
I am convinced that if the word "like" was removed from the English language, 98% of the people in Boston, Massachusetts could not string together a sentence. I count the 'likes' on the train home by fellow passengers talking to their friends and it's astounding. These people also get off at the "Harvard" stop. Scary!
At Tue Jul 22, 01:18:00 PM,
KentF said…
I think all of your comments are groovy cool and far out. We are way more boss than the kids of today.
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