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Hearing Moon Dreams -- Miles Davis
The "Dude" Rules
Do you know how to use the word "Dude" in casual conversation? Because apparently, there's a social structure there that's rather more complex than you'd expect for a bit of slang best known as the favored expression of the cannibis-huffing young:
A linguist from the University of Pittsburgh has published a scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more than a catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, skaters, slackers and teenagers.
Scott Kiesling says in the fall edition of American Speech that the word derives its power from something he calls cool solidarity - an effortless kinship that's not too intimate.
Cool solidarity is especially important to young men who are under social pressure to be close with other young men, but not enough to be suspected as gay.
In other words: Close, dude, but not that close.
"It's like man or buddy, there is often this male-male addressed term that says, 'I'm your friend but not much more than your friend,'" said Kiesling, whose research focuses on language and masculinity.
The article notes that guy can also call women friends "dude," but not if they're, you know, romantically involved (which is probably a wise distinction to make). You're also not likely to call a parent or a boss (or other authority figures) "dude." WHich is again a not-bad distinction to make, I think.
I grew up in Los Angeles in the 80s, and suffice to say that "dude" was an extensive portion of my volcabulary (and just for the record, I've never huffed the cannibis). I've been mildly surprised at its staying power -- kids are still using it, which is the sort of slang longevity that other slang from my teen era has not managed, and rightly so, since "tubular" was an embarrassing expression even then.
Do you use "dude" in casual conversation? Still? Dude?
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"Dude" is no longer something you call another person. It has become a common catch-all exclamation. My ten year-old son uses it every time he comes across something he thinks is cool. Even if there is nobody else around. He's playing on the computer and comes across a great new cheat code for one of his games: "Dude!" He gets up in the morning and finds it has snowed overnight: "Dude!" His new Nintendo Power magazine arrives in the mail: "Dude!"
-Paul
http://journals.aol.ca/plittle/AuroraWalkingVacation/ -
Yep, I use Dude...only to guys though.
I also have a screen name with "dude" in it. :D
...and it's more popular because of the Dell commerical in the 90's..."Dude, you got a Dell!" -
yup.
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Dude, you have no idea.... I'm almost 29 years old, and I still call people Dude, everything is dude, or man... I'm a girl, what's up with that?
12/20/04 7:51 PM
http://journals.aol.com/lisit