Its funny the way people use words sometimes. Speech patterns and expressions also differ regionally. I always catch a drift of the lingo and jargon of people I hang around with. I don't know why I do that. Maybe its because I want to feel accepted. I noticed this many times and now make my best attempt at resisting this involuntary habit of catching the drift of some funny applications of some common words..
Recently, I have been hanging around with an acquaintance who uses the word “really” a lot. Of course in a many contexts “really” may not only be inappropriate, it may even be rude. “Really” is just an expression. We don’t use the word “really” in a real sense. Not that it matters most of the time. As a figure of speech its really okay. But circumstance should dictate when the use of “really” is not really warranted.
Some cases when the “really” response is okay.
A: “You know it rained non-stop through the night in my part of the town”
B: Really?
A: You know I had to miss class because my boss would not let me leave this evening.
B: Really?
Consider this:
A; I lost my mother when I was 10.
B: Really?
Not okay! I know that is just an expression. But it ticks me off. Of course” really”! Why would anyone lie about that?
In presentations, I have observed several occasions where people overly use the words "Basically", "Actually". Why, I wonder? The rest of the sentence following "basically" may not be all that "basic" after all (read fundamental). Or why would someone actually say something that was not "actual" while presenting to a group? Sometimes, I have heard this; “I guess what I am trying to say is……” Are you telling me you have to guess what you yourself are saying??
Language is just for communication, no doubt. But effective communication requires people to speak appropriately and respond appropriately to others' statements or speech. It shows when one is not listening or appreciating the gravity of what the speaker is saying. My point is, if at all we respond, we must respond thoughtfully.
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3 comments:
Oh ! Really !
Actually, I agree with you. Basically, I guess what I am trying to say is that people should understand the gravity of the context and thoughtfully give an appropriate response.
:-)
I think language and its usage plays an important role. While I perfectly agree that being thoughtful is one thing, but, being ignorant is another. I can look at a person's eye and see what they really mean, even if they had the wrong usage. Think about people who use the right words, but, dont feel a thing at heart...Also are people who dont utter a word leaving you clueless...What can I say...
'Actually' and 'Basically' are words used to stall to give the speaker/listener sometime to form sentences in their brain.
These words are like 'nop's.
Indifferent listeners are whole different issue.
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