>>>>>>A lot of people where I work are Chinese, and listening to them is a hoot. They speak Chinese to each other, but you hear a lot of English words and phrases in the mix. One Chinese woman with whom I worked fairly closely, calls it "Chinglish".
>>>>>
>>>>>Is that same as "Konlish" (English with heavy dose of Korean accent)? :)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>No. That is Korean with some English (or facsimiles of English) words included. We have the same in this area. It's called Spanglish.
>>>
>>>But Spanglish is becoming the object of serious study. One of Solomon's professors at Amherst has published on the subject. I suspect Spanglish will soon be considered a real language like Yiddish.
>>>
>>>Tamar
>>
>>There are always people willing to 'seriously study' just about anything that might get them a grant. They do a disservice to both languages by pretending that this is just 'language evolution' instead of language devolution.
>>
>>In the same sort of vein for instance, in English, what is the real requirement for using the word 'like' 4 times in one sentence - not one of those times actually using it to mean 'like'? People go to the store; they don't 'like' go to 'like' the store, y'know. Much to my chagrin, there are even teachers and others in positions of responsibility who are now starting to say publicly that there is nothing wrong with it; that it's just a further evolution of the language. I disagree (for what that's worth). You could round up a dozen of those people who speak that way, and maybe, if you're lucky, one might know the meaning of the word 'chagrin'. No, the language is devolving, and the fact that somebody is willing to seriously study something, doesn't make it truly worth serious study.
>
>I think there is a difference between something like Spanglish and the addition of "like" or "you know" to speaking. In fact, those words are simply a way of saying "um," of holding the floor longer. If you listen to people give speeches, only the best speakers will totally avoid using audible pauses. "Like" and "you know" and the other fillers serve that purpose.
>
>Tamar

It bugs me the way .... er politicians ... er speak in this ... er pause-staccato manner. Is that .... er what you mean?