Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The Weird Things People Say LOVING THE STRANGE
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The Weird Things People Say LOVING THE STRANGE
Hey! Welcome to episode 17 of LOVING THE STRANGE where we talk about the strange, adorable things people say.
Thank you all so much for listening! This wouldn’t be fun if you weren’t here.
Hey, did you know that families create their own familect? It’s a dialect that’s just for them, sort of a bunch of inside jokes and words that co-opt new meanings and it’s meant to show connectedness.
There’s a whole big article by Kathryn Harris in the Atlantic on it. In it she quotes linguist and Georgetown professor Cynthia Gordon as saying, “Any group of people that has extended contact over time and sees itself as distinctive is going to have some specialized uses of language,” Gordon told her. “Listening to recordings of other families is like being immersed in a different world.”
It’s interesting to wonder if this is true about communities and regions too. By listening to their unique sayings do we get to understand their world, right?
Let’s start with Shaun’s grampa’s apparent favorite:
Colder Than A Well Digger’s Arse:
Ah. I can see where Shaun gets his love for language and cussing. I can’t find the exact etymology of this, but most people think it’s Southern and it’s because either:
Other great Southern weather idioms are –
It's hog Killin' weather
It’s cold as a wedge.
If the creek don’t rise.
Laurie Flood asked:
If you don’t use the phrase all ‘stov up are you even from maine?
Ah, Laurie, we’d lose many people from away if this was the requirement, but for those of you not from here, let’s explain.
We can’t fit all the notes we have, but if you want to check them out, head over to Carrie’s blog
https://carriejonesbooks.blog/colder-than-a-well-diggers-arse-the-weird-and-adorable-sometimes-things-people-say-loving-the-strange-podcast/
View all episodes
By Shaun FarrarHey! Welcome to episode 17 of LOVING THE STRANGE where we talk about the strange, adorable things people say.
Thank you all so much for listening! This wouldn’t be fun if you weren’t here.
Hey, did you know that families create their own familect? It’s a dialect that’s just for them, sort of a bunch of inside jokes and words that co-opt new meanings and it’s meant to show connectedness.
There’s a whole big article by Kathryn Harris in the Atlantic on it. In it she quotes linguist and Georgetown professor Cynthia Gordon as saying, “Any group of people that has extended contact over time and sees itself as distinctive is going to have some specialized uses of language,” Gordon told her. “Listening to recordings of other families is like being immersed in a different world.”
It’s interesting to wonder if this is true about communities and regions too. By listening to their unique sayings do we get to understand their world, right?
Let’s start with Shaun’s grampa’s apparent favorite:
Colder Than A Well Digger’s Arse:
Ah. I can see where Shaun gets his love for language and cussing. I can’t find the exact etymology of this, but most people think it’s Southern and it’s because either:
Other great Southern weather idioms are –
It's hog Killin' weather
It’s cold as a wedge.
If the creek don’t rise.
Laurie Flood asked:
If you don’t use the phrase all ‘stov up are you even from maine?
Ah, Laurie, we’d lose many people from away if this was the requirement, but for those of you not from here, let’s explain.
We can’t fit all the notes we have, but if you want to check them out, head over to Carrie’s blog
https://carriejonesbooks.blog/colder-than-a-well-diggers-arse-the-weird-and-adorable-sometimes-things-people-say-loving-the-strange-podcast/