Word usage & meaning

01.02.2005

I'm a big fan of clear language. And, yes, I realize that what follows only makes me seem absolutely insane. But.

Flying back from London (reading a lipogrammatic epistolary novel about pangrams) the flight attendant walked down the aisle offering immigration forms. Nothing odd there — except her intonation. This is what I find so frequently frustrating about people's language usage: the lack of thought as to what's actually being said.

See, she kept offering immigration forms to every passenger w/ a short, two-word sentence. But her intonation put the sentence in the interrogative, rather than declarative or imperative mode. That is, she walked down the aisle saying: "Immigration form?" Said as a question, she basically opened up to yes-or-no responses. As if she were walking down the aisle w/ a beverage cart asking: "Something to drink?"

When she approached me, I asked whether everyone (citizens, non-citizen residents, visitors) needed the form. Yes, apparently everyone did. Of course, when I asked her why she was using the interrogative mode, rather than another, she just gave me an "oh-you're-one-of-those" looks & shoved the form at me.

But. And here's what slays me. She then continued to walk down the aisle asking: "Immigration form?" I'll never understand why. The mistake ranks up there w/ its near-opposite — answering this-or-that questions w/ yes-or-no answers (e.g. Q: Would you like whole or skim milk? A: Yes).

Oh, Professor Higgins! Where are you when we need you?

Posted by Miguel at 02:11 AM

Comments

(many, not all) Americans and Canadians have an irritating tendency to end their sentences with a question. Spare usage of it is good cos it does make the speaker sound friendly, but too much of it makes the speaker sound retarded. It's a blaring weakness in American-English, and it annoys me to hear Singaporeans like that, trying to sound like the Americans and thinking it's cool. Blech!

Posted by: Stephanie at January 2, 2005 07:41 AM

I don't mind the ocassional rhetorical question. But questions that aren't meant to be answered (or only asked out of social obligation) belittle the interogative form, which is designed to sollicit information from another person.

I can't stand people passing by w/ the "how's it going" but w/o the pause to let me answer. I'd rather just get a "hey" & a nod for acknowledgement.

Posted by: Miguel [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 2, 2005 01:47 PM