Today in inflections

[randy_byers]

Overheard in a cellphone conversation on the sidewalk just now: "Shu-hut u-hup! Dude?!"

Is this some kind of We-hest Co-hoast thi-hing? Maybe Ca-ha-li-hi? Double your consonants, and double the emphasis! Or whuh-hut?

Comments

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

I've been known to do it, so its Old-de World-de

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

That's so O-hold Wuh-hurled!

[del-c.livejournal.com]

It could just be idiolect at the moment. If the person is influential in his circle of friends, it might become the dialect of a small clique. If they're influential, it might become a brief fad in slang talk. It's an Alice's Restaurant thing. Maybe you're there at the start of something big.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

I feel potentially very important, in an anonymous broadcaster kind of way. Since we're at the launching pad stage and we don't want any of the details to get distorted, I should mention it was a young woman I overhead, not a young man.