I was having an interesting conversation on SQLServerCentral.com today about non-native English speakers, which triggered an introspective thought. Communication is difficult enough without cultural slang interspersed into it. In the United States alone, there are at least five different ways of talking about soda (soda, soda-pop, pop, coke, cola, etc.) and some people just won’t understand you if you use the wrong phrase.
The best example I can think of comes from the movie Back to the Future, where Michael J. Fox’s character goes into a 1950’s dinner and asks for a Pepsi Free, and the waitress thinks he wants a free Pepsi, and then asks for a Tab, prompting the waitress to say "But you haven’t ordered anything yet." Granted, those are soda names as opposed to slang, but it illustrates my point. Do people who weren’t born in the U.S. understand phrases like "going postal," "the twinkie defense," and "touch base?" Do Americans understand words like "brolly," "lorry," and "snog?"
This issue is doubly true for tech culture and writer culture. Both groups have their own slang that means nothing to those standing outside the groups, but we don’t always recognize when we’re overusing the slang and confusing other people. When I’m writing, I find myself using modern euphemisms, or cultural slang, that doesn’t necessarily fit with the period and people I’m writing about. When I’m doing my DBA job, I often pepper my speech with SQL terms that the end users don’t comprehend.
Since I’m all about improving my communciation skills (written and verbal), I’m setting myself a challenge. Over the course of one day, I’m going to pay attention to every word I write and speak. Every time I use a slang word, or a cultural euphemism, I’m going to write it down. The goal is to count how many times I "short cut" proper English by making a reference that can only be understood by a small group of people. We’ll see how long I last.
In the meantime, I invite you to take the same challenge. It’s an exercise in self-awareness. Plus, I think it’ll be fun. I wonder how many maritime or baseball references have made it into my everyday speech. How many have made it into yours?
2 Responses
American slang
Going postal, yes (there were a couple computer games on that)
Twinkie defence, no idea. What’s a twinkie?
Touch base, yes but no idea where it came from.
Re: American slang
A Twinkie is a sweet treat of yellow sponge cake with creme filling inside. Hostess is the company that makes them. “The Twinkie Defense” came from a U.S. murder trial where the defendant tried to claim not guilty by reason of insanity (aka, eating way too many treats). The suggestion was that sugar made him kill the victim. Someone made a “he ate too many twinkies” comment on national t.v. and his defense became known as the twinkie defense. The phrase is now commonly used to deride ludicrous claims or debate positions, things that can’t be defended and are just beyond ridiculous.
Touch Base is, I believe, a phrase that comes from baseball. In order to call a runner “out,” the baseman has to touch the base with the baseball before the runner touches the base.