Linguist deconstructs the word, dude
Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 7:18 am
Pittsburgh-
A linguist from the University of Pitt. has published a scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more thana catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, skaters, slackers, and teens.
An admitted dude-userduring his college years(as was I), Scott Kiesling said the four letter word has many uses:
in greetings(What's up, Dude?)
as an exclamation(Whoa, Dude!)
commiseration(Dude, I'm so sorry.)
to one-up someone(Dude, that's so lame!)
as well as agreement, surprise, and disgust(DUDE!)
Kiesling says in the fall edition of American Speech the the word derives its power from something he calls cool solidarity-- an effortless kinship that is not too intimate.
Cool solidarity is especially important to young men who are under social pressure to be close with other males, but not 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 that."
To decode the word's meaning, Kiesling listened to conversations with frat boys he'd taped from 1995 to 1997. He found the word taps into nonconformity and a new American image of leisurely success.
Anecdotally, men were the predominant users of the word, but women sometimes called eachother "dude."
Less frequently, men will call women dudes and vice versa. But that comes with some rules. Men reported that they use "dude' with women with whom they are close friends, but not with women with whom they are intimate.
It was also shown that people were less likely to use 'dude' with bosses, parents, and professors.
Historically, dude originally meant, "old rags"--- a dudesman was a scarecrow. In the late 1800s, a dude was akin to a "dandy," a meticulously dressed man. It became cool in the 1930s and 40s. Dude began to rise in the teenage lexicon with the release and growing popularity of the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
A linguist from the University of Pitt. has published a scholarly paper deconstructing and deciphering the word "dude," contending it is much more thana catchall for lazy, inarticulate surfers, skaters, slackers, and teens.
An admitted dude-userduring his college years(as was I), Scott Kiesling said the four letter word has many uses:
in greetings(What's up, Dude?)
as an exclamation(Whoa, Dude!)
commiseration(Dude, I'm so sorry.)
to one-up someone(Dude, that's so lame!)
as well as agreement, surprise, and disgust(DUDE!)
Kiesling says in the fall edition of American Speech the the word derives its power from something he calls cool solidarity-- an effortless kinship that is not too intimate.
Cool solidarity is especially important to young men who are under social pressure to be close with other males, but not 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 that."
To decode the word's meaning, Kiesling listened to conversations with frat boys he'd taped from 1995 to 1997. He found the word taps into nonconformity and a new American image of leisurely success.
Anecdotally, men were the predominant users of the word, but women sometimes called eachother "dude."
Less frequently, men will call women dudes and vice versa. But that comes with some rules. Men reported that they use "dude' with women with whom they are close friends, but not with women with whom they are intimate.
It was also shown that people were less likely to use 'dude' with bosses, parents, and professors.
Historically, dude originally meant, "old rags"--- a dudesman was a scarecrow. In the late 1800s, a dude was akin to a "dandy," a meticulously dressed man. It became cool in the 1930s and 40s. Dude began to rise in the teenage lexicon with the release and growing popularity of the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"