And so. . .?

Homer Simpson and rules? Homer certainly would scorn the idea. If we think of prescriptivist rules of grammar laid down by those who would prescribe how to speak "proper" English, "Doh!" and "duh" are definitely out of bounds.

However, if we examine these phrases carefully and objectively, "Doh!" and "duh" conform to the rules that linguists use to describe human language. In particular,

• The morphology and semantics show that "Doh!" and "duh" are a particularly interesting example of a back-formation.
• Attempting to understand how these one-word utterances represent entire, highly nuanced sentences illustrates how the brain converts thoughts from mentalese to expression using syntactic rules and transformations.
• Careful listening to the pronunciation of "duh" and "Doh!" spotlights the precision required for sounds to become intelligible phonemes in a language.

Change

The English language has evolved remarkably. The Great Vowel Shift between 1400 and 1600 shows a great discontinuity in pronunciation. (If you have time, go to the Great Vowel Shift web site by Melinda J. Menzer and hear the dialogue between the "conservative" and "advanced" speakers.) It seems likely that the new ways of pronouncing words grated on the ears of older listeners for generations. John Wycliffe would not have appreciated William Shakespeare's English. Steven Pinker quotes Samuel Johnson's preface to his 1755 Dictionary:

"When we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay, that it is in his power to change sublunary nature, and clear the world at once from folly, vanity, and affection."1

There is no point in grimacing or lamenting the "dumbing down of America" when we recognize the wide-spread use of "duh" and "Doh!" To the contrary, we should appreciate that in their unusual pronunciations these words are cultivating a phonemic awareness, a more finely tuned ear for language, in our society. How amazing that people can tune in to the tonal subtlety, the retroflex "d", and the glottal stop used for these simple words!

While people may dislike the sarcasm that is expressed in "duh," we can enjoy the way Homer Simpson was able to parody and deflate that sarcasm with his evolution of "Doh!"

Socialization

It is particularly important for educators and other responsible adults to listen and respect the language of young people. Students do need to be taught standard English, but that does not require adults to belittle the creativity of young people's own expressions.

In an article about "What Teachers Need to Know About Language" Lily Wong Fillmore and Catherine E. Snow write, "Acquiring the academic discourse patterns of school is an important part of the educational development of all sudents, but it is neither necessary nor desirable to promote it at the expense of the language patterns children already have."2

The authors are writing primarily about the home languages and vernacular dialects spoken by students' families. However, I think the respect can be extended to the language patterns that emerge in popular culture.

The Future. . .Doh!

The English of the future will not turn out as any of us plan or predict. Global communication and technology will accelerate changes in both the spoken and written language.

Consider the orthography, the written form of the language, developing among millions of young people who e-message. When I asked a young friend (a particularly well-educated and articulate eighth grader) to describe the changes, she wrote me:

well everyone has their own style of writin most ppl dont capatalize or punctuate. i never capatalize. sum ppl write propper though. its basicaly wutevas easy for u. ppl dont wanna spend time on makin things perfect so they take short cuts like miss spellin not put a g on the ends of words that end in ing like running writing instead u would say runnin writin. um ill brb the chicks r peepin. ok i guess thats all i gots to go now i hope i helped a little. write me if u gots more ? ok bye

Notes

1. Pinker, p. 403

2. Lily Wong Fillmore and Catherine E. Snow, p. 6.

3. "lol" is an abbreviation for "laugh out loud."

I appreciate any corrections, suggestions for resources, or comments. Please send them to dw@think-ink.net.