“Get me.”
Click.
That was it. Two words made up one end of an entire conversation. A student wanted a parent to come pick her up at school. I had to guess at what the other end of the conversation sounded like:
Ring, Ring
“Hello?”
“Get me.”
“OK.”
Click.
It’s not Shakespeare. It’s Village English. It’s beautiful. It’s quirky and clipped and utilitarian. Allow me a hypothetical “standard” English (Wisconsin) version of the same conversation with my maternal parental unit:
Ring, Ring
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mom, it’s Sara.”
“Hey honey.”
“Um, could you come pick me up from school? It’s freezing out and I don’t want to have to walk.”
“Sure, no problem. Be waiting outside the front doors like usual.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem. See you in a bit.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Click.
If you think about it, there’s so much unnecessary information in that conversation. Of course my mother knew it was me… or at least that it was one of her daughters, since we all sound the same. And, duh, I’m at school. If I’m not at school, I’m in trouble, and why would I be calling her to pick me up from wherever I went when I skipped school? And, duh, it’s cold and that’s why I don’t want to walk. And if she always picks me up in the same place, then why clarify? So, really, the “nonstandard” dialect in this case is much more user-friendly. Not that it'll change the way I talk.
Language is fun.
I am a nerd.
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2 comments:
I often use "Village English" on my husband. It always makes perfect sense to me but it drives him nuts :-)...he says "I can't read your mind". Me..."What?" For a guy, he sure needs a lot of words to "communicate"!
i was bustin out laughing reading this... okay... i guess i do use a little village enlish on my hubby too, i'll say something like, "ya" if he asks while im doing something and he happens to ask a quesiton worthy of a longer answer. lol, then he's utterly clueless and im not.
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