conversated ???

[Mtnjim]

Guys & Gals;
Forgive me for being a \"thght a$$\" but--I see the word \"conversated\" in a lot of posts by several people. \"Conversated \" is NOT a word. \"Conversed\" or \"held a conversation with\" are words.
Again forgive me for my rant, but I\'m a bit of a stickler for good communications.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I understand your discomfort; however, \"to conversate\" is widely used in the black community and is not going away. It means \"to chit chat.\" There is a subtle difference between holding a conversation and conversating. Conversating is more like chatting someone up. To hold a conversation presupposes an actual subject and somewhat thoughtful dialogue on that subject. Conversating is a much lighter thing.

Sometimes new usages feel odd when they first pop up -- we eventually get used to and incorporate them.

Get used to \"conversate.\" It ain\'t goin\' nowhere. /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

[nonscents]

Thanks for the explanation. I didn\'t know that.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I remember the first time I heard it. I was on a city bus and these two black girls were sitting on the seat in front of me, talking, and one said to the other about a guy who approached her, waving her hand in disdain, while shaking her head, \"I didn\'t feel like CONversating,\" i.e., Hi, how are ya? what\'s your name? come here often? where are you from?, etc.

I rarely feel like conversating either -- especially when in a bad mood, can\'t do small talk worth a damn and don\'t feel like being chatted up. /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

[Mtnjim]

\"Thanks for the explanation. I didn\'t know that.\"

Me too!!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

You\'re welcome, my pleasure. /ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif

I\'ve been trying to think of more verb forms that are now common usage that used to sound jarringly ungrammatical - the only one that comes to mind is \"to cope.\" It used to be that if someone said \"I just can\'t cope,\" it was irksome because you expected an object -- can\'t cope WITH WHAT?!? \"She\'s having trouble coping.\" WITH WHAT? so your head went \"glitch...glitch...glitch\" kind of like hearing an unresolved 7th as the last chord in a song. But it doesn\'t bother me a bit now.

There must be others.

[Gullahboy]

I fully aware that the made up word is used in the black community....but certain words need to stay there ....when one leaves the hood its a must that he or she speaks standard english to get that decent job.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Yes, but nobody\'s interviewing for a job here, and language changes and evolves over time -- witness the fact that we don\'t use \"thou\" anymore, for example.

[nonscents]

\"Conversated\" didn\'t jar me because I have heard people use the verb \"orientate\" where I would have used \"orient\". No disrespect intended, but I assumed those using \"conversate\" were not native English speakers. English is incredibly inconsistent. The nominalized \"conversation\" has the verb \"converse\", the nominalized \"aggregation\" has \"aggregate\", the nominalized \"reservation\" has \"reserve\".

(Just in case anyone\'s wondering, I am consciously using nonstandard American English punctuation in the above. The Britains are much more logical IMHO than are the Yanks when it comes to punctuating with quotation marks. I put the commas and periods outside the quotation marks. So shoot me!) [Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know! I put the exclamation inside the parentheses. Like Watcher says, consistency is the hobglobin of small minds!]

[Mtnjim]

I guess some of this stuff is \"east coast\" so I haven\'t heard it?

My concern was \"credability\".
If someone \"sounds\" educated, their points have more credability. And of course the written form of communication is more \"formal\" than the spoken form.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I think \"conversate\" is more a matter of social class than region. It\'s all over the place, but it\'s a more hip-hop, black or multi-cultural, city/street slang.

And now that you know about it, you can conversate with the best of them without worrying you\'ll lose your credibility.

Nonscents -- the quotation marks thing DRIVES ME NUTS. You don\'t know how many times I\'ve wanted to post about it. Nice to know someone besides me notices. I\'ve been wondering how that\'s going to shake out. Few people understand the punctuation rule in American English that the quotation marks go OUTSIDE the end punctuation. On an international board like this, it becomes a moot point -- except that younger writers absorb an incorrect usage -- but it\'s only incorrect for American English, not for British.

It seems inevitable, if it\'s not already happening, that we\'ll see the British rules at least mentioned as variants. For now, the hodgepodge is amazing to look at.

[nonscents]

/ubbthreads/images/icons/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/blush.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/blush.gif Incrediby, I found the users of \"conversate\" quite creditable and credible. I must confess an innate negative reaction to orthographical oversights. But after years of therapy I have come to accept my own limitations and those of others.

/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif Lighten up! The nice thing about the internet is that I can communicate with someone whose values, background, education, typographical prowess, and mores differ from my own.

[nonscents]

Hey FTR, you jumped in in front of me. I wasn\'t replying to you but to the person before you. Please ask next time before you barge in like that.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Oh, stand aside. We\'re on a subject dear to my heart. I\'ll be posting willy nilly, I\'m afraid. You\'ll just have to jump in as you can.

\"But after years of therapy I have come to accept my own limitations and those of others. \" /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

Right - welcome to the human race, huh?

[Gullahboy]

In the African -American community there is a dialect used....and the word coversate does appear ..but as I have stated before when some one from the hood is in a social situation with people outside of the hood standard english has to be used ...words like.... axe=ask......fintoo=going to get....ext ext ext .......words like that have to stay in the hood...

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Ok.

[Watcher]

Hey my word \"attention whore\" or \"serial attention seeker\" can be applied to annoying women who are bored and who want to flirt but arent putting out \"fluffies\" are so annoying and must be told off when they go overboard or have zeroed intention of further phsical contact.
Pherobomb is also a new word, this forum is chockas with em.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Watcher, I challenge you to go the next 10 posts without using the phrase \"Attention Whore.\" My money says you can\'t do it.

[Watcher]

Ok done FTR heres no #1

[**DONOTDELETE**]

That doesn\'t count. No bullsh!t posts.

[tallmacky]

Gullahboy
\"In the African -American community there is a dialect used....and the word coversate does appear ..but as I have stated before when some one from the hood is in a social situation with people outside of the hood standard English has to be used ...words like.... axe=ask......fintoo=going to get....ext ext ext .......words like that have to stay in the hood... \"

What\'s normal? That\'s what I heard many people say when I was younger this and that is normal and so on, sure you could say the majority is the norm, majority of what and where, just one small town or the whole world? It’s hard to believe that the people’s sex symbol himself “tallmacky” was an unnecessary linguistic tight ass. I thought that “Oh, my god if everyone spells this word wrong then more will come and no one will be able to talk to each other!” This of course is completely idiotic one dimensional view of the situation. People must realize that language like us is a living, breathing entity itself. It is alive in other words such like the internet is alive. Things are constantly changing dialects, different sayings, accents and so on are just part of something that has always existed. Now I would never want anyone to try to control language it’s lose situation anyhow.

With this said take a look at a nice quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear “EDGAR I know thee well: a serviceable villain; As duteous to the vices of thy mistress As badness would desire.” That is actually a bit more understandable then most of what was spoken. Who would have thought that “Wherefore art thou Romeo” was saying why are you/must be different ( Montague). Obviously we have not kept the same structure, word use, and even words. Words are only used if they are understood by a majority of people therefore people are not going to go around making up words every six seconds and creating some sort of disaster. Words that you use everyday “cool” and so on started out as either a different meaning or slang altogether. Many people harp upon Ebonics for breaking/manipulating many of today’s modern language laws and known uses. Ebonics is not a separate language but a dialect. There are over fifty dialects in the U.S. alone. Dialects pop up wherever there are a group of closely knitted people who’s inside life comes first to their outside life (outside world). Ebonics is no different people may find it weird or strange but that’s just the fault of their ignorance/low IQ(joke). I have always noticed that people who speak “wrong” are always able to understand what I say and are able to use the words I use vice versa (not 100%). Dialects or just speaking different are not hard to understand well if you actually listen ?.

I also find it funny how so many find Ebonics or any other ethnic ”weird talk” as the worst of the worst. Yeah the f$ck right! I live in upstate New York. There is a large army base here (Fort Drum) with many different races involved but mostly just non-army backwards hicks/rednecks (not all). I hear them talk all the time whether in school or not it’s some much messed up English if you can call it that. In my opinion from my own subjective point of view it sounds very bad and stupid, just as hard to understand as Ebonics to some I guess. I am not saying that no one should ever hear this talk or saying that “ this talk should stay in the country.” I am not surprised that few people mention this it’s the over all effect an average person does not care to listen but is constantly reminded that hey this guy is asian, black. Red . blue and he is talking funny not just that this guy is speaking different. Do we as Americans speak the queen’s English? We have changed many parts of the English language, where are the purist now huh?

Gullahboy
words like that have to stay in the hood... \"

Why should words like that stay in one secluded area? Should culture and personality also stay in one area? It’s a freaking word for god’s sake. That sounds a bit quasi-prejudice to me, are these words like the “African bee attack” that was supposed to hit south west America. It’s ok for only certain people to use the word? Should the Brits use an American accent/dialect when they come over also? Think logically what if many started using a different word what’s going to happen?

when some one from the hood is in a social situation

Many “social” situations happen in the “hood” does it have to be a tea party Hahahah., I try to look with a completely open mind, I have reached this state not only because I am a god-like superhuman but because I have the overall look, too complicated to go on with?

I don’t think this is an issue of someone speaking different but it’s an issue of tolerance. I am not saying that we should all make up new words but it’s a natural process.


(very board today had nothing else to do yeeeehaw)

[franki]

\"very board today\"

Is that also some sort of dialect ... ?! /ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif

[tallmacky]

hahha you got me

[EXIT63]

Whenever someone says conversated they are showing their high level of edumacation.

[tallmacky]

Possibly as of now, but what does that have to do with education though? Seriously! In school we have English class its not a very large part of what we do. The way we talk is from learning from those around us, someone can be very educated and speak a certain way. Such as Southerners, so bring on a stronger argument then making a half funny jab.

things change seasons change (great song)

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Southerners? Never mind Southerners. Listen to someone from Brooklyn for awhile. You\'ll be glad to come to Virginia.

[MadDoctor]

Political leaders and other prominent public figures often start fashions. Maybe it\'s the president\'s use of words like \"resignate,\" \"subliminable,\" and \"exemplerary\" that\'s doing it.

/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif

[phersurf]

Language does evolve, but more often than not, some slang words have a certain \"experation date\" then it is out of vogue. The highest percentage of slang never makes it into the vernacular. Many groups have their own dialect, but they need to be aware that there are certain times, places and people that correct, commonly accepted English HAS to be used. When I was in high school and collage hanging out with my surfing budies, we would speak in a totally incomprehensible language to everyone except another surfer. But as soon as we got into class or our jobs, we spoke the accepted version of correct English.