This amusing article posted last fall. Nonetheless, it is still amusing in its inaccuracies. Now, Im not getting all ruffled over generalizations. Its just that California is such a large, diverse state. Therefore, generalizations become myths, and can then grow wildly inaccurate. As in: It never rains in California, or mindless denials, like: It doesnt snow in California, or We dont have seasons, or lightweight fluff, such as the term: Endless Summer. --ugh! Do these people even live in California? Or do they sleep-walk through their entire day? Of the so-called 12 Sayings mentioned, I will touch on a few. First off, #2 -- June Gloom... Yes, while June Gloom does exist. It assumes all Californians live within 30 miles of the southern California coast (as this is primarily a Southern California phenomenon.) The marine layer event that arrives in spring is not experienced by residents as nearby as the eastern half of San Diego County where a marine layer is non-existent. And, we say May Gray, not Gray May. And, the years where the marine overcast persists into summer, we have an additional rhyming phrase, No-Sky July, or the pun, Fog-ust Numbers 5,6,7,9 & 10 refer to surfer-influenced slang that I assure you is not necessarily commonplace. I for one, do not personally use any of those terms, along with the word dude, nor the indiscriminate over-use of the words awesome and epic. For me, the word dude is ether preceded with the word surfer, or is followed by the word ranch. Therefore, a very limited use. Although, being a Californian of many years, I am conscious of my ability to slip into a lazy over-usage of injecting the word like into conversation. Which brings me to #12... Just as the article wryly describes it, it is shudder-inducing -- the use of the word Cali to refer to the golden state of California. This arouses as much disdain as the word Frisco does for many San Franciscans. Do not get me wrong. I try not to word-police people (too often ;) ). I love languages, and English, even with its irregularities, and difficulties, is so fluid, and malleable, it absorbs new words like a sponge, it pillages other tongues for just the right word to carefully, and precisely describe something with narrow specificity, even when the language is already heavy with a dictionary-ful of other adjectives. Nor, do I want to be snob and assume that all new words, and coined phrases, originate from the minds of the wise and witty. Children will often make the most amusing (and clever) puns from a place of complete naivete. However, sometimes we are stuck with a term before a more sonorously-pleasing word arises. Case in point, linear-minded computer geeks have forced us to eat the hard-to-swallow term blogging. Another two minutes of brainstorming might have had us netlogging, or e-logging instead. businessinsider/california-sayings-2013-12
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 18:57:10 +0000
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