Now, the video below is very funny, as is often the case from Fry and Laurie.
But it reminds me of another little linguistic quirk: you'll often hear somebody say "good morning", and the opposite person saying something like "yes it is" or "what's good about it", as if the first person has made a statement about the quality of the morning. But contrarily I've always been under the impression that "good morning" is rather a contraction of "I wish you a good morning".
Yes, English is a tricky language. So illogical but so charming at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIf you are wondering what to say after someone says “good morning”, you might want to view the shoe shop sketch for ideas.
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ReplyDeleteJa tak, skidegodt, faktisk.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning is a meaningless statement. It's like someone you don't know asking "How are you today?" or something. Usually, though not always, they don't really give a shit. It's been so overused it's lost all meaning. Sort of like being called "sir" by people in stores, at restaurants, etc. It used to be a term of respect but it's lost all meaning.
ReplyDeleteJa tak, skidegodt, faktisk.
What is this dago talk? English, motherfucker, do you speak it?!
Just kidding.
but so charming at the same time.
Hm...charming? I don't know.
Hm...charming? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThe charm to me comes from the cultural layers that the language carriers. The illogicalities tend to have a story behind them, often related to some form of human weakness, pretentiousness or sin. Hence the charm.
I am specifically referring to British English here, though. American English, of course, contains much of the same, but it adds its own cultural layer which masks out some of the older meanings still present in British English.