A University of Pittsburgh linguist just published a paper deconstructing social uses of the term "dude". What caught my eye in this was this passage from the AP article:
Kiesling says in the fall edition of American Speech that the word derives its power from something he calls cool solidarity - an effortless kinship that's not too intimate.Cool solidarity is especially important to young men who are under social pressure to be close with other young men, but not enough to be suspected as gay.
In other words: Close, dude, but not that close.
What struck me here was the similarity of "cool solidarity" to the ambiguity of the word "tantamount" discussed earlier in this space. "Dude", like "tantamount", is shifty: it offers closeness, but insists on separation; it identifies, but distinguishes at the same time.
This ambiguity serves another social need, as well: the requirement to deny that American life is a class-stratified minefield. The article notes that Kiesling
found the word taps into nonconformity and a new American image of leisurely success.
So by ambiguously wielding the word "dude", the rebel consumer embraces an affected casual attitude, an easy stride that says "I'm one of the proles" even as he enjoys the fruits of "leisurely success".
(Tip of the cap to brother Dylan for the link.)
Dude, you're like, reading too much into stuff and stuff.
Posted by: Dr. Mom's #1 Patient at December 28, 2004 12:24 PM