Girlish expressions in colloquial Chinese and English

[Claw]

using the word "like" in a sentence also is a sign of girlishness to me, as well as a lack of being able to communicate... i cannot stand when people go,

So yesterday, I like went to the store, then like I saw like um, John, and we like got ice cream at like Dairy Queen.

The "like" is more of a regional phenomenon (mostly on the west coast and in parts of the northeast United States) than it is of gender (though girls may say "like" more often in a sentence than guys).

Although I don't say "like" nearly as much as what's shown in your example sentence, it does crop up from time to time. I've been consciously trying to stop myself for the past 10 years and still haven't completely succeeded -- it will still manifest itself every now and then when I'm not noticing.

[berylchan]

Quote:

In southern china, it can be impolite if you say 你 'you' to elderly or senior relatives, so the best way is to replace 'you' with 叔叔(uncle), 大嬸(aunt), 嫂嫂 (wife of elder "brother"[not necessarily a relative]) depending on the one who talk with.

您 would be a better solution??

We seldom use "您" in daily. Especially facing your family. We prefer to use 叔叔(uncle), 大嬸(aunt), 嫂嫂 (wife of elder "brother")..... "您" is showing some respect but there are gaps too

[BeijingSlacker]

We seldom use "您" in daily. Especially facing your family. We prefer to use 叔叔(uncle), 大嬸(aunt), 嫂嫂 (wife of elder "brother")..... "您" is showing some respect but there are gaps too

Then I guess its a cultural thing because we use 您 all the time in Beijing. I would feel uncomfortable to call someone who is 10+ older than I am 你.

"totally" isn't typically used except by drama queens and airheads.

So what would be a good substitute? "completely" ?

using the word "like" in a sentence also is a sign of girlishness to me, as well as a lack of being able to communicate... i cannot stand when people go,

Can't agree more I often hear non-native English speaking girls say things like " I am like &*(*()_*), then he is like &*&*&*&**. Then I am like ^^&&^&^& " Honestly, that sounds quite dumb and babyish to me although I myself quite often have problems communicating in English.

[xuechengfeng]

BeijingSlacker:

I don't mean totally should be excluded altogether from the English language, but there was a Western phenemenon of "Valley girl talk," which I'm not sure whether you're aware of or not..

A sentence would look like this..

Like, Oh my God, I am totally in love with Justin. We were like totally making out last night. I am so like, totally thinking about marrying him, totally.

It's pretty much a word that could be inferred when someone speaks of a completed action in English. It's repetition and use in awkward spots makes it an ignorant and girlish word.

Hope that makes sense.

[Guest Yau]

what about the expression "oh la la" , "ma ma mia"?

Is that girlish too?

[shibo77]

-Shibo

[Guest Yau]

It does to me too. However, "你丫想的美" doesn't sound girlish at all

It sounds more girlish than 你想的美 to me. However, it really depends on the tones and gestures.

Just grabbed it from sina.com. I believe "你好嗎" can be girlish to his type.

[Guest Yau]

I think that one is French and one is Italian.

yes, and both of them successfully invaded english too.

[BeijingSlacker]

Quote:

It does to me too. However, "你丫想的美" doesn't sound girlish at all

It sounds more girlish than 你想的美 to me. However, it really depends on the tones and gestures.

never mind, I was just joking. 你丫 (not 你呀）is a swear word which means "you bastard/a**hole".

The vast majority of the people I worked with in my first three years in China were young women (tough life, but someones got to do it) and I had to rid myself of a habit of adding 呀 at the end of my sentences.

I personally think the worst thing to add to the end of your sentence is “哦" as in 我去吃饭了哦 as opposed to 我去吃饭了。Its not only girlish, but very dumb and annoying.(well, I am not by any chance suggesting there is any links between girlishness and stupidity.)

我去吃饭了 ＝ I am just gonna go eat.

我去吃饭了哦 = Hey, everyone, listen to me and listen to me well. There is a very important thing you need to know and this may have an big impact on you. That is I, myself, will be on my way to lunch!! If you wanna go with me, which of course you do,ask me right now.

[sfr@rcn.com]

using the word "like" in a sentence also is a sign of girlishness to me, as well as a lack of being able to communicate... i cannot stand when people go,

So yesterday, I like went to the store, then like I saw like um, John, and we like got ice cream at like Dairy Queen.

To me, using the word "go" instead of "say" is also effeminate, but that just shows that there's more context and consider-the-source-ing that goes into the distinction between girlish and boyish.

Sandra

[bhchao]

Like, Oh my God, I am totally in love with Justin. We were like totally making out last night. I am so like, totally thinking about marrying him, totally.

This reminds me of a female colleague I once had. She was a red-haired chick and a very fast talker. She often used expressions such as "Hey dude... did you watch what happened last night?....yah like totally...oh my gosh....I was like so shocked..." Fortunately it came from a girl, and I can accept "Hey dude"

If a guy used such expressions consistently, I will be freaked out.