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English is weird
Tova:
--- Quote from: Tova on 08 Feb 2019, 00:02 ---I’ve got a weird question. I’m ... uh... I’m gunna go ahead and ask it.
Why are Americans so fond of this little mannerism? “I’m gunna go ahead and do something “ rather than simply “I’m gunna do something.” It seems especially popular on YouTube, but I’ve seen it elsewhere (including here).
There’s nothing wrong with it, but it seems redundant and a little odd to my ear.
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I've been doing a lot of online learning (via skillshare and its ilk) and this phrase has gone from bemusing to painfully grating. I know, I know. I'm letting a trivial thing get to me, but when I'm listening to a set of instructions and every instruction in every course is prefaced with "... go ahead and..." .... UGGGHHHH.
Morituri:
"Go ahead and" implies that the speaker's been thinking about it, or meaning to do it, or procrastinating about doing it, or considering alternatives to doing it, for some time before making the decision to actually do it. It signifies making a decision rather than just having a plan. It's used for decisions that *result* in having plans, so it may be a bit subtle. When encountered in instructions, it implies that there are a lot of other things you might have done or might have thought you could do, and that this is the one you should decide to do, and that's ... it ranges from "more subtle" to "meaningless verbal tic."
It does grate on the ear. It tends to be dialect rather than formal speech. But in the usual case it's dialect that does legitimately signal meaning that formal speech usually doesn't. In the case of instructions, it signifies considerably less meaning.
For example, "I'm going to go ahead and have that chair fixed" several months after it breaks, after having guests over and finding that there's not enough seating for them all. As opposed to "I'm going to have that chair fixed" by way of explanation when loading it into the car on the day after it breaks.
TorporChambre:
Only english of my language forgot it's second pronoun to second-person i.e. ``thou'' e.g. french ``vous,'' ``toi;'' german ``Sie,'' ``du;'' &c. It's peevish English can't say to company ``you'' and know I mean company than representer.
--- Quote from: Tova on 26 Jul 2020, 03:17 ---How to pronounce -on endings?
--- Quote ---Is there any rhyme or reason to why we pronounce -on endings in two different ways? Sometimes -on sounds like a short o as in marathon, hexagon, and neutron. But more often, the o sounds like a schwa as in carbon, watermelon, and abandon. Is it just a matter of what language the word was derived from?
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Maybe mishearing but hexagonal has schwa, but carbonic not has schwa. Terrible fun.
cybersmurf:
--- Quote from: TorporChambre on 26 Aug 2020, 20:55 ---Only english of my language forgot it's second pronoun to second-person i.e. ``thou'' e.g. french ``vous,'' ``toi;'' german ``Sie,'' ``du;'' &c. It's peevish English can't say to company ``you'' and know I mean company than representer.
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I once wondered why calling someone by their first name was such a big deal. Missing said formality, English lacks a certain middle ground. In German I can call someone by first name, but still use the formal "Sie". That has become a rarity, but still is an option.
Gyrre:
The classic usted/ustedes frustration, and the source of 'you all and y'all'.
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