Linguist Deciphers Uses of Word 'Dude'
By MIKE CRISSEY, Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH ?- Dude, you've got to read this. A linguist from the University of Pittsburgh has published a scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, skaters, slackers and teenagers.
An admitted dude-user during his college years, Scott Kiesling said the four-letter word has many uses: in greetings ("What's up, dude?"); as an exclamation ("Whoa, Dude!"); commiseration ("Dude, I'm so sorry."); to one-up someone ("That's so lame, dude."); as well as agreement, surprise and disgust ("Dude.").
Kiesling says in the fall edition of American Speech that the word derives its power from something he calls cool solidarity ?- an effortless kinship that's not too intimate.
Cool solidarity is especially important to young men who are under social pressure to be close with other young men, but not enough to be suspected as gay.
In other words: Close, dude, but not that close.
"It's like man or buddy, there is often this male-male addressed term that says, 'I'm your friend but not much more than your friend,'" said Kiesling, whose research focuses on language and masculinity.
To decode the word's meaning, Kiesling listened to conversations with fraternity members he taped in 1993. He also had undergraduate students in sociolinguistics classes in 2001 and 2002 write down the first 20 times they heard "dude" and who said it during a three-day period.
He found the word taps into nonconformity and a new American image of leisurely success.
Anecdotally, men were the predominant users of the word, but women sometimes call each other dudes.
Less frequently, men will call women dudes and vice versa. But that comes with some rules, according to self-reporting from students in a 2002 language and gender class included in the paper.
"Men report that they use dude with women with whom they are close friends, but not with women with whom they are intimate," according to the study.
His students also reported that they were least likely to use the word with parents, bosses and professors.
Historically, dude originally meant "old rags" ?- a "dudesman" was a scarecrow. In the late 1800s, a "dude" was akin to a "dandy," a meticulously dressed man, especially out West. It became "cool" in the 1930s and 1940s, according to Kiesling. Dude began its rise in the teenage lexicon with the 1981 movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
"Dude" also shows no signs of disappearing as more and more of our culture becomes youth-centered, said Mary Bucholtz, an associate professor of linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
"I have seen middle-aged men using 'dude' with each other," she said.
Jeff Spiccoli (sp) was a heavy dude...
That was interesting, cav.
(this strategy of piling up all the news items in a single thread will surely bring back the col man... how can he possibly not return and restore order to the Stories of Interesting Humans?)
Here's one for you Region:
Thursday December 9, 2004
An Italian who believes he's a cat was rescued by firemen when he got stuck up a tree in Milan. Shoppers saw the man, 46, mewing in distress and called for help. Attempts to coax him down with a saucer of milk failed.
I have a cat with exactly the opposite problem!
'Beckham Nativity' Tableau Outrages Churches
Dec 8, 9:10 AM (ET)
By Paul Majendie
LONDON (Reuters) - Church leaders united Wednesday to condemn a Christmas nativity tableau depicting soccer star David Beckham as Joseph and his pop singer wife Victoria as the Virgin Mary.
Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians called the exhibit at Madame Tussaud's waxwork museum in London a new low in the cult of celebrity worship.
In the tableau, Australian pop star Kylie Minogue hovers above the crib as an angel while "Posh Spice" Victoria lays her shawled head tenderly on Beckham's shoulder.
Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Duke of Edinburgh star as The Three Wise Men. The shepherds are played by Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson, British actor Hugh Grant and camp Irish comedian Graham Norton.
The Vatican was not amused.
"This is worse than bad taste. It is cheap," an official Vatican source told Reuters in Rome.
"You cannot use contemporary personalities as the central figures of the nativity ... And it becomes worse, if that were possible, if the people may be of questionable moral standing," he added.
He said it was sometimes acceptable to use modern figures in the supporting roles because it can help make Christmas contemporary -- but not the central characters.
In Naples, for example, famous figures like Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona have been depicted as shepherds in creche scenes.
A spokesman for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of 70 million Anglicans worldwide, reacted with weary resignation to the "Posh and Becks" tableau.
"There is a tradition of each generation trying to re-interpret the nativity but, Oh Dear..," he said.
Paul Handley, editor of the Anglican Church Times, thought the tableau was "just pathetic."
"It is yet another sign that people feel they can play around with sacred things," he told Reuters. "God is not going to worry. He is going to cope -- but it is a bit depressing."
The Reverend Rod Thomas, spokesman for the conservative evangelical grouping Reform, told Reuters: "This is just an additional indication of the way people exploit the Christian message without any real understanding of its significance."
"Would they do the same thing for a depiction of a major event in the Muslim faith?" he asked.
A spokesman for the Presbyterian Church was equally forthright: "The waxwork will cause offence to many and it should be pulled down straight away."
The Beckhams were not aware of the museum's plans to depict them in the nativity scene, a spokesman for the couple told Reuters. "We have nothing to say on this" he added.
As the row rumbles over his unsuspecting head, the England captain may have trouble counting on divine inspiration: he is in Italy preparing for Real Madrid's European Champions League clash with AS Roma -- just a stone's throw from the Vatican.
Hilarious!
That sounds like a perfect script for one ot those twee BBC comedies, cav.
"This is worse than bad taste. It is cheap," an official Vatican source told Reuters in Rome.
Um, you wouldn't have visual images would you?
I wish you did, too! Very, very funny!
And such wonderful quotes! I can just imagine this fellow solemnly declaring:
"Paul Handley, editor of the Anglican Church Times, thought the tableau was "just pathetic."
"It is yet another sign that people feel they can play around with sacred things," he told Reuters. "God is not going to worry. He is going to cope -- but it is a bit depressing."
Priceless!
Hey, look what I found, cav!
Madame Tussauds' nativity scene, featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant, Graham Norton, David and Victoria Beckham, Kylie Minogue, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Duke of Edinburgh and US President George Bush.
Ha! Thanks, I'm not too good with finding images and posting them.
msolga wrote:Here's one for you Region:
Thursday December 9, 2004
An Italian who believes he's a cat was rescued by firemen when he got stuck up a tree in Milan. Shoppers saw the man, 46, mewing in distress and called for help. Attempts to coax him down with a saucer of milk failed.
I have a cat with exactly the opposite problem!
You're right... how can we do without this kind of stuff? Thanks, Olga, for providing it!
<smiling also from the Nativity Tableau>
Greetings, Piffka, just as I head off to bed at 1 am!
msolga wrote:Here's one for you Region:
Thursday December 9, 2004
An Italian who believes he's a cat was rescued by firemen when he got stuck up a tree in Milan. Shoppers saw the man, 46, mewing in distress and called for help. Attempts to coax him down with a saucer of milk failed.
I have a cat with exactly the opposite problem!
you have a cat who thinx he's a 46 year old italian man??? cool!
i bet he walks around all day saying "purina ciao ciao"...
Region Philbis wrote:msolga wrote:Here's one for you Region:
Thursday December 9, 2004
An Italian who believes he's a cat was rescued by firemen when he got stuck up a tree in Milan. Shoppers saw the man, 46, mewing in distress and called for help. Attempts to coax him down with a saucer of milk failed.
I have a cat with exactly the opposite problem!
you have a cat who thinx he's a 46 year old italian man??? cool!
i bet he walks around all day saying "purina ciao ciao"...
Yes, indeed! Instead of meow, it's ciao! Confuses the neighbourhood cats something terrible!
Laptop users in danger of deleting their sperm
John Stapleton
December 10, 2004/the AUSTRALIAN
THEY may be portable and convenient, but laptop computers may also carry hidden dangers - especially for teenagers and young men.
The computers, which have exploded in popularity in recent years, can reach high operating temperatures that could heat up the scrotum, affecting the quality and quantity of men's sperm, according to a study.
If the men did not curtail their laptop use, they could face problems in 15 to 20 years when they wanted to start a family, said Yefim Sheynkin, from the State University of New York.
"Long-term use may have a detrimental effect on their reproductive health," he said.
"It is very difficult to predict how long the computer can be used safely.
"It may not be at all, if the testicular temperature goes up high within a very short period of time."
John Macdonald, from the Men's Health and Information Resource Centre at the University of Western Sydney, said "the close proximity to heat can affect male fertility".
"For a long time men seeking to have children, especially after some failed attempts, have been encouraged not to wear tight underpants and to allow a more natural temperature in that region," he said. "This study adds evidence to what has already been known anecdotally."
Professor Macdonald said while heat did not affect the ability to become aroused, it did affect the quality and quantity of sperm.
He said most men did not put laptops on their laps and usually there was something, such as a desk, between it and their genitals. "Our advice would be to continue keeping that distance," he said.
`
Kitten Survives 275-Mile Ride Next to Car Engine
Dec 9, 9:48 AM (ET)
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German couple was shocked after a 275-mile car journey to discover a surprise stowaway cowering next to the engine of their car -- a 6-week-old kitten.
The meows of the tiny animal only became audible after Elisabeth and Dieter Gesehl had parked their car.
"First of all we called the police as we feared for a moment that we must have run over and seriously injured a cat," the 64-year-old woman from Eggenfelden told Bonn express newspaper.
After checking under the hood, however, they discovered the unharmed kitten. The animal, which the couple have since adopted and named "Pussy," was soon back to normal after a few minutes of petting.
(Sorry for the bold print, but the way that was written really cracked me up
)
