Language Investigation #1

Amanda Tyler
CO301D/Fall 2008
Language Investigation #1

My family comes from a very diverse background; my mother was born in Kenya and my father was born in England. Both of their families were from England as well. My brother and I are the first American born citizens in our family, as well as in our extended family. Right away, one can tell that I’m not exactly 100% American because of how my parents raised my brother and I. Many of the words they use as well as phrases come from their English background. I tend to hear many of the following phrases on a regular basis when I am home or talking to my parents on the phone.
“Put a sock in it.” Meaning to literally put a sock in your mouth and stop talking. It is just another slang term or phrase for please stop harping on about whatever you’re talking about. I would usually hear it when I wouldn’t stop pestering my mom about taking me to the mall or something of that nature.
“Are you going to spend a penny?” This phrase is most commonly used by my grandma, but it means using the restroom before we leave. Back in England, one use to literally have to spend a penny to use the toilet.
“Stop piddling around.” My mom or dad would always say this to me when I had something to do but was procrastinating doing it. It is similar to what Americans say when they want someone to stop messing around and get going.
“Nailing a rubber nail into a brick wall.” My mother used to always say this phrase to me. The term is literally impossible to do; one cannot hammer a rubber nail into a brick wall. My mom would always say this to me whenever I would ask for something I knew I couldn’t have. For example, if I asked for a piece of chocolate before dinner, she would never give me one because it is right before dinner and then I would not be hungry.
“Bloody hell.” Not only my parents but my aunt and uncle have also used this term quite often. It is used whenever someone is angry or upset about something. Instead of cussing, this term replaces the cuss word so that whoever is listening or around still realizes that you are mad about the issue without being inappropriate. I’ve even noticed myself saying it a few times.
“Are you going to go bugger off?” Whenever I am getting ready to leave the house randomly, my parents would always use this term. It basically means, are you going to leave? I think the word bugger is used because a person is just randomly leaving, kind of like a bug, popping in randomly then leaving. My parents would never say this phrase if I had told them ahead of time of my plans.
“Shack up.” When first hearing this word to most Americans it sounds like having sex with someone. But my parents generally used it when I was staying a friend’s house. It just means to stay with someone else, could be female or male.
Out of these seven terms I probably hear at least four out of the seven on a regular basis. Often when I would have friends over and my parents used these phrases, my friends would not know what they were talking about which is why I say they are primarily English phrases. Even now I find myself using some of these terms as well just because I got so used to hearing my parents use them.