8mm Forum: Who "is" you ?

This is topic Who "is" you ? in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on February 22, 2017, 01:00 PM:

I heard that sentence yesterday in an American film. It has been said by two different people in the film. Is it a "common" change from the classical "Who are you" in the US ? I founded also this song : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brmwwLVRilA

Posted by Mathew James (Member # 4581) on February 22, 2017, 01:22 PM:

Hi Dominique,

This is a strange and rare phrase. Rap artists are always trying to make up new ways to say things, many of which do not stick to the 'slang' side of things, however some does last i suppose.
With all the acronyms being created in internet lingo, who knows what will last. lol
When we were younger, me and a few friends of mine would make up words by reversing letters(reeb erots, pronounce reeberots, meaning beer store), speaking in a kind of code only we understood. Many of these words we still use today, and so do our kids. I have actually heard a couple of these made-up terms used by others which was surprising to see how fast language could travel. any of my friends found it funny and still use it and know what we are saying...
I don't think this will be a common phrase or will last, but who knows... I know if someone used that language I would think they needed grammar school again [Smile]

ps: This kinda reminds me of southern slang as well...such as a mother yells out to her young son and says 'Where you at? and after the child replies, she says 'Well you come from where you is to where I is. [Smile]

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on February 22, 2017, 01:33 PM:

As far as I know,it is used for black stereotypes (and supposedly illiterate) in the movies and music (See Tom and Jerry in Solid Serenade to hear a well known song using this term)!

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on February 22, 2017, 01:53 PM:

Mathew and Panayotis, thank you for your answers. The film in which I heard this sentence was indeed a kind of black people only movie. The title is "Moonlight". This American film seems to have some success here (in Belgium and in France).

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on February 24, 2017, 03:23 AM:

I'm old fashioned. It would be "Who ist thou" for me. :-)

Posted by Mathew James (Member # 4581) on February 24, 2017, 08:47 AM:

Hey Dom,
Here is something hillarious. I am not sure how your understanding of spoken english is, but if it is anywhere near your written, you will understand this....
Brian Regan(comedian) is hillarious, and there is one small skit i watched a while ago that you reminded me of with this thread.
Watch from 1:48-2:05ish mark where he talks of the little kids with crayon books saying "Where Was You"...it is similar to the lingo of 'Where is You'..."Where Was you at?"...etc...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlcq_DC1CkM

This whole skit is hilarious. I love this guys humour. He uses alot of sarcasm which is harder to understand when learning a language...

ps: I know enough French if you ever need help translating something or what it may mean, but i feel you are super advanced already with English.

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on February 24, 2017, 09:40 AM:

Mathew, if only my English was better...
Thanks for your link, although I didn't understand each word of each sentence, I understood enough to find it funny (espeially the last part with people not respecting the stand/walk rule on the escalators). I tried the subtitles but they are obviousely made by a computer and are often way out what is actuelly said. I'm surprised that the only feedback I got from my first post came only from non-Americans members as the film I was refering to is from the US.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on February 24, 2017, 11:31 AM:

It's true that this kind of grammar is (was?) often scripted to black people, then again it's often applied to people of all sorts of ethnic backgrounds, maybe to suggest their education, and sometimes their intelligence. (-two different things!)

It's funny how it works in real life: I have a friend that's brilliant mathematically (much more than I am...), but can't string a coherent sentence together. We were worried he wouldn't graduate from engineering school because he kept failing English Composition!

-Butt axeully he are reeully smarrt!

(He was born just in time for spell check and grammar check: at least he has a fighting chance now!)

Don't worry about your English, Dominique. It's something I've always admired about European people how many of you speak multiple languages. My family in Germany all speak English. I decided to meet them halfway so now I'm taking German!

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on February 25, 2017, 05:39 AM:

Does the explanation given above also apply to the sentence "it don't matter"? (Instead of "it doesn't matter" which I learnt in the school).

Regards,

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on February 25, 2017, 06:43 AM:

"It don't matter" is actually pretty mainstream, usually for emphasis. Maybe it's saying "Look, I'm annoyed enough that I don't care how it sounds!".

It's not great grammar, but it's something that's OK in informal speech.

Then again there's the word "aint". When you really want to turn the emphasis up you say something like "Everybody says that, but it just aint so!"

Spell Check might as well give up on this one. Sure, if you use it in your resume you probably shouldn't get the job, but in an E-mail to your wife about what color the kitchen should get painted it's passable.

-Aint it the truth!

Grammar is a great thing, but you shouldn't ever let it get in the way of getting an idea across.

(I'm still trying to unravel why people say "as it were".)

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on February 25, 2017, 12:31 PM:

Thanks, Steve. It must be scariying talking with you as a non-English native speaker since you often use less common locutions [Smile]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on February 25, 2017, 07:26 PM:

When I've gone to other countries and the people speak English I try to keep my locutions under control! I sympathize with them: I studied Spanish for four years, got good enough at it that I was tutoring for a while, and still I'm nowhere near fluent! This business of speaking second and third languages is not easy going.

I worked with a bunch of guys from Siberia a couple of years ago. (Went there twice, too.) I remember sitting with them filling out paperwork one time.

-not only were these guys speaking somebody else's language, they were writing in somebody else's alphabet too!

That's a line I don't think I could ever cross!

Posted by Steven J Kirk (Member # 1135) on February 26, 2017, 02:12 AM:

The question is not who is you but is you is or is you ain't my baby?

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