I had a bikkie and a cuppa for brekkie - diminutives

[freezeframe]

What do you think of 'all righty'? The word crept into my vocabulary after watching Sex and the City, where one of the characters kept using it. I wonder if it sounds somewhat idiotic to you; it sounded nice to me :)

It has to be said with a certain intonation... Then it doesn't mean "alright", it is a somewhat sarcastic/annoyed way of saying "alright".

If you say it normally, just to mean "alright", then yes it's extremely annoying.

[SanMar]

What do you think of 'all righty'? The word crept into my vocabulary after watching Sex and the City, where one of the characters kept using it. I wonder if it sounds somewhat idiotic to you; it sounded nice to me :)

I think it is mainly the perceived insincerity that people react to. Canadians just don't get why adults would talk that way. But, if you genuinely like it, and it feels authentic to you, then use it! (Although you would get some funny looks here!)


Not a teacher.

[Mr_Ben]

Obviously if you add a bunch of cutsey syllables at the end of every word you'll end up sounding like Ned Flanders. I don't think things are as totally traditional as the Canadians are making it out to be though (I've never been to Canada and only know a couple, so Ill leave it to them to confirm about Canadian English). I'm pretty sure they would call a highly technical person a techie (not to be confused with a Trekkie--a Star Trek nerd). And in the states we have nicknames for things that are diminutive but without adhering to the -ie formula. Football is pigskin or gridiron, basketball is hoops or b-ball.

What about pop/soda/coke (all three terms refer to carbonated beverages/soft drinks)? Are they diminutives? What about text speak or chat acronyms? I have personally overheard people say the letters OMG (oh my god) and TTYL (talk to you later) in conversation. Yes, they were adults and yes, I did die a little inside when I heard it.

In British English (what I heard of it while living in Ireland, anyway), the formulaic -ie/-y/-er diminutives are more common. People watch footy or ruggers on TV, lots of people wear trackie bottoms (tracksuit trousers) and many "undesirable" youth wear hoodies (hooded sweatshirts/jumpers) and will occasionally do a runner (run away). In the office, we exchange prezzies at Christmas, but there was always a long boring prezzo (presentation) for the end of year results.

edited to add:

How could I have forgotten California's contribution to diminutives? Hella (meaning a hell of a lot of, but used as an intensifier... it's hella annoying).

[freezeframe]

Football is pigskin or gridiron, basketball is hoops or b-ball.

What about pop/soda/coke (all three terms refer to carbonated beverages/soft drinks)?

the letters OMG (oh my god) and TTYL (talk to you later) in conversation.

But, these are not diminutives...

[Mr_Ben]

But, these are not diminutives...

I'm suggesting that North Americans tend to use nicknames and acronyms where other dialects would use a traditional diminutive. See footy vs gridiron as "pet names" for football.

[SanMar]

Actually, Trekkie is another diminutive that sounds normal among/st adults (geeky adults that is). As to the rest of the comment it sounds a bit like apples and oranges. Tradition doesn't factor in at all in my opinion but perhaps I just don't understand what you mean.
Also, I don't know how someone could speak technically unless they are talking about technical things, so I'm not sure what you mean. However I am really good at speaking "un-technically" .

eg."I need that thingy that you copy stuff from your computer on to."

I use thingy to replace technical terms all the time, or any electronic gadget, but I don't think this is a Canadian phenomenon.

Trekkie
geeky
and maybe thingy

I'd add these to my previous two diminutives, come to think of it.

Not a teacher.
Live long and prosper!