John Brown's Notes and Essays: The truth behind British politeness

Sunday, December 11, 2016

The truth behind British politeness

Translation table explaining the truth behind British politeness becomes internet hit

The British trait of being too polite to speak one's mind has led to a table translating numerous hollow English phrases becoming an internet hit.

TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

From Facebook:

John Brown [reply to a kind FB comment on the article, edited/expanded here] ... The one word that has become exceptional in the American language -- I'm sure you've noticed -- is the linguistic tic "like," a word (if you can call it such) much used by Facebook (well, Zuck the Facebook mastermind did expand our humble citizens' choice of "like" selections recently) and Street investment "specialists" on Tee-Vee (I "like" this stock, they say with confidence).

Like -- this word (I can't find the right way to clarify it), which is meant to absolve most sentences (if they can so be so called in "what's a sentence" America) uttered by us Amerikuns (especially the young) that frees us, in the land of the free, of what we say of any substantive meaning -- nothing is precisely defined, thus often preceded by "like" (granted the WS investors use it as a verb) -- it's a verbal non-commitment, the not-so-hidden message of which is "whatever words I speak, I'm not completely sure what they mean; and I couldn't care less; if I did, I wouldn't be cool" (In the case of Wall Street Wizards, so I won't be sued.)

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating about this (arguably) American form of "the people's" intellectual modesty/ignorance.

On the bright side, the incessant use of "like" in the land of the free (well, we did "like Ike") does sound very post-post modern/grammar-free (i.e., fashionable)

It ("like") is now being increasingly used by USA/advertising corporate-media "truth-telling" tee-vee reporters earning an "honest" living as non-stop, overpaid smiling slaves "doing their thing" on the USA "mainstream networks" (God bless American dentistry for their perfect-looking oh-so-white teeth, so unlike the Brit's pictured above molars).

In the future (allow this prediction) -- the American willing media slaves (they get good salaries, much better than a factory worker in Michigan) with their oh-so-white teeth and clean as Mr. Clean diversity-determined status -- will be disposed of by their "nice guy" masters of at bargain prices, this humble non-prophet blogger predicts.

I (a reader of Gogol) can see all not-so-distant-future news broadcasts/articles -- sans pretentious corporate media slaves taking themseves so pretentiously by saying they're reporting reality "as it is" -- consisting, increasingly, of the endless repetition of the person-free word "like" -- including "like" used in incessant ads, which would consist -- as background scenery -- of easily dowloaded, meaningless images meant to stimulate (I guess) the id/libido of the "consumer" to waste money on junk s/he cannot afford, just by uttering "like" (to order, just say "like") ...

P.S. Our president-elect also seems to love like ....

More on "like" at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.../not-loving-like_b...