Bleeding Edge - A Rolling Assessment

[John Bailey]

I read a lot of the BE dialogue as Larry David-esque (can't help it,
especially with Elaine and Ernie) and David himself often makes
statements with a rising terminal - it doesn't sound Valley Girl-esque
at all. More like stating something and challenging the listener to
disagree.

On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 10:27 AM, Laura Kelber <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
> I don't think this is specifically a NY thing. I agree with Kai that its
> probably more prevalent in women, either because of insecurity, or to mask
> assertiveness.  But I know plenty of New Yorkers, male and female, who just
> fucking say what's on their mind, no question about it. In fact, offhand, I
> can't think of anyone I know who uses that rising  inflection. Certainly,
> that classic Brooklynese question: "Whaddya think I yam, stoopid or
> sumptin?" barely registers as a question, as spoken. I agree with Bekah that
> the rising inflection originated with the Valley Girl culture, then spread
> all over the country. Don't pin it on us, motherfuckers!
>
> Laura
>
>
> On Sep 27, 2013, at 7:35 PM, Markekohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I believe that is TRP's point...
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Sep 27, 2013, at 7:33 PM, Fiona Shnapple <fionashnapple at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Wtf, tons of New Yorkers talk this way, they did then and they do now. It's
> my business to know this.
>
> On Friday, September 27, 2013, Markekohut wrote:
>>
>> And, according to Wikipedia on ' high rising terminal' thanks, Bekah, some
>> linguists' research says its use often does two other things 1) sets up a
>> verbal barrier to being interrupted 2) involves the listener in
>> acknowledging they have listened.
>>
>> New York City, yes...
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On Sep 27, 2013, at 9:25 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> It is predominantly a girl thing. It is a way of asking permission, or
>> even apologizing for the words one speaks.
>>
>> On Friday, September 27, 2013, Bekah wrote:
>>>
>>> I think it's ackshully like, you know, Valley Girl?   (Not that it
>>> necessarily came from the SF Valley,  though.)     The question mark
>>> intonation at the end is called the "rising terminal"  and is  requesting a
>>> nod of positive response like - "..,  you know?"  "..,  you understand?"
>>> "Capiche?"  This intonation also appears frequently in Spanish speakers,
>>> "Verdad?"
>>>
>>> It was around here in the 1980s - movies,  people (usually women),  etc.
>>>
>>> Bekah
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sep 27, 2013, at 3:47 AM, Kai Frederik Lorentzen
>>> <lorentzen at hotmail.de> wrote:
>>>
>>> >
>>> > Over here this way of talking has become endemic during recent years. A
>>> > secondary Anglizismus (or: Amerikanismus) is what local linguists probably
>>> > would call this. Actually it drives me mad ... it's like, you know, not
>>> > sounding very, um, intelligent? They even dub old movies with this way of
>>> > talking now, which sounds really strange and brings me to the the following
>>> > questions: Since when are people in New York  lifting the phrases in case of
>>> > sentences which actually are simple statements or fragments thererof? (You
>>> > can also hear this way of talking in 'Mad Men', so it is, assumed the
>>> > serial's authenticity, not that new, is it?) Is this way of talking also
>>> > common in other regions of the US? Other anglophone countries? And: Is there
>>> > a gender dimension in it? This seems to be the case in 'Bleeding Edge', 'Mad
>>> > Men' and the contemporary German reality: It's mostly women who talk that
>>> > way. So if it's really around since at least 1960 my thesis would be that it
>>> > originally was kinda compromise formula for women entering male job domains:
>>> > Like still sounding sweet while making statements and, you know, claims?
>>> >
>>> > If you think that I sound like a sexist grammar fascist you're probably
>>> > right.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On 27.09.2013 00:01, alice wellintown wrote:
>>> >> The talk is zapping and yapping along at a new york minute. Notice
>>> >> too, the interrogatives, the lifting of the phrases that get question marks.
>>> >> New York Runs on Dunkin and Dots ...?
>>> >> Taylor mali poem
>>> >>
>>> >
>>> > -
>>> > Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
>>>
>>> -
>>> Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?listpynchon-l
-
Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l