Re: CHAT: ...y'know

Raymond A. Brown scripsit:

> Certainly contributes nothing in spoken discourse.
I think of this as a request-for-confirmation.  In low-context cultures
like America and Lojbanistan, we need a lot of these to make sure the
other person is, well, getting it.

The counterpart of this from a high-context culture is
"Bit much, isn't it?"  *What* is a bit much *what*, pray tell?

> As these phrases are
> usually uttered with rising intonation, I often answer the pesky things
> with: "No, I don't".  That invariably throws these careless speakers as
> they take a few moments to figure out what I replied to.  But if one has
> the patience to actually answers these meaningless tags, the speakers will
> drop them.
Hmmph.  About like the Russians of my acquaintance, who reply to
"How are you?" with a medical snapshot!

> Of course, the really determined space fillers will the resort to
> _beginning_ sentences with "Basically......."   I haven't worked out a
> response to this yet.
How base of them.

> Basically, it seems to mean symptomatic of sloppy thinking, right, know
> what I mean?
I'm reminded of the explication of the slogan "One man, one vote":
"Why, it means, one bloody man, one bloody vote, see?"

--
John Cowan                                   cowan@ccil.org
       I am a member of a civilization. --David Brin