Interesting. Thanks. I'd like to know more about different ways of thinking.
Not to act like I know your ex. Sorta familiar though.
I look at this matter of ways of thinking from my own side, but my cousin, a therapist, has studied all this, as have I would guess many a2kers. Not having taken physiological psychology since the sixties, I defer, but certainly different areas of the brain predominate in different people, with different results. Left brain, right brain, are two obvious distinctions, but there is more going on than that.
Some people tend to click with math and physics and music, some verbal...
some linear, some thinking more in forays and loops (my words for my own way). Often these people have no truck with each other, and since I am on the foray side, I see usually that linear people tend to be disgusted with the loopy sorts. I guess I should be quiet now and let a psychologist speak to this.
Interesting topic and certainly worthy of consideration.
But IMO any person, no matter how they originally put their thoughts together, should give some thought as to how they are going to transmit those thoughts to another, and how those words are going to be perceived.
Anyone who, in general conversation, regularly gives HIS OPINIONS in outline form, should realize how offensive hearing them would be.
Maybe he had some good points. I'd be more than willing to overlook style of delivery for stimulating conversation, being personally lacking in that luxury here in Small Town Texas.
But what speakers lose in content here, they make up for in style.
Where can I get both?
Bringing up my ex's habit was probably a bad idea.
I have no problem with people outlining their thoughts, but my ex happens to take the A, B, C thing to the extreme. He uses this form of outlining his thoughts several times a day, and it's tiring.
Guess I should add that most folks who come across my ex's path are educated quickly in that he's a story teller. Getting a definitive sentence out of him is impossible. Absolutely impossible.
All of our mutual friends are quite used to rolling their eyes once the ex begins to speak.
Style and content, there's a concept.
Aaaccck, not to be so shallow. Always go for content...
back to grammar, never use bunches of dots after semithoughts....
I love dots, it shows a sense that you are thinking and you havent just plopped a quote from a link. Youre alive , so to speak.
Somebody earlier hated "aint". I respectfully disagree. Aint has been cultivated by some of our greaqt writers in their speech. It can be a purposely selected contraction that, if properly used, can give your speech a nice non judgemental sound. We , after all, dont have to go around impressing everyone all the time, aint?
I personally hate two speech patterns that must be taught in schools. First one is more a n affectation rather than grammar, it is popularly known as "UPSPEAK" in which the endings of each sentence, when spoken , are given a rise in pitch and have an impressed question mark. AAAAHHHH, it sounds so stupid , I dont know from whence it came but I get it in classes mostly and from the undergrads the most.
Another is the addition of 'like" and "you know" as connectives between sentences, so the entire speech is like, you know a group of you know, random thoughts , like , you know, unifed with, you know, these unintended linkages.
All else, I find charming and essential to good communication.
I teach EFL . My foreign students make tons of errors, of course. But the one that drives me crazy most often is
"I have seen him yesterday" instead of "I saw him yesterday".
The simple past (not present perfect) must be used with adverbials of past time!!!
I wonder why I care so much about this one??
This post celebrates my graduation form Newbie status!!
farmerman, thanks for saying you like dots. I use them, too, and I think at times to good effect.
Never heard "UPSPEAK," but I guess I don't hang around "UPSPEAK" kind of people.
I'll be listening for it!
Phoenix, my sweetheart does that, too! I swear between the faulty pronoun references and all the extra words, I do NOT know what he's talking about. By the time he finishes his monologue, which rarely happens, I have quite forgotton most of his points. A little bit of the A, B, C outline from him might be welcome!
And, he actually thinks the problem is with ME, because I can't remember what he said. Um . . . He never stops talking and says very little and I really do have do things, things like work, groom, sleep, keep house.
Omigod! He takes twenty minutes to explain five minutes of his life!
And most of it is about what he or she must have thought about what he did or didn't do. It's all about him, you see, and what others think of him, no matter the topic.
Lately, I just ask him when he comes home if everybody he met realizes how important he is.
That does take the word count down some.
I get even though, when I read my grammar books to him. LOL! He jokingly threatened to shoot himself if I read him one more passage from the Chicago Manual!
My monotone voice helped.
Paybacks are a mother.
And lots of fun!
Trailblazer, congrats on your new status!
It must be frustrating to hear them struggle with constructions we take for granted.
I remember our French teacher losing it when we would leave a whole verb out of a sentence.
French was her native tongue . . . and attitude!
When my father, who also spoke French, went to see her about my sister's behavior, they spent the whole time celebrating French. They never even mentioned my sister and her classroom antics!
I hate that people don't use the perfect tense any more, or use the subjunctive . I wish I were free today is I wish I was free today, , I could've gone becomes I could've went, etc. It's common usage now and I wish it weren't!
Oops trailblazer I missed reading your post before I added my 2 cents.
I know I'm in good company, though.
Phoenix-Its a fact that the things that we found attractive in our mates when we were dating, now drive us nuts. I heard that on Howard Stern so it must be right.
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