Writing by Ear

I’ve watched a lot of “man on the street” interviews and commentary on the news lately — people lining up for opening of the new Rivers casino; people commenting on health care or Cash for Clunkers or some other political topic; people lamenting road construction; people describing the horrible scene of the shooting at the L.A. Fitness gym the other night — in the shopping center right next to where I used to work.

What stands out to me, an unfortunate common thread among all of these unrelated topics and seemingly random mix of speakers, is how a lot of these people speak. I can’t count the number of “I seen him…” or “He told me he seen…” or “We don’t go there no mores” I’ve heard. And I just don’t get it.

I’d wager that every or nearly every one of the people speaking had a high school diploma. How does one get through 12 years of schooling and still say “I seen…”? What parent doesn’t gently correct their toddler’s first “Me do it” or “I drawed it” or, yes, “I seen…” from Day 1 — sowing the seeds early on of how to speak the language? How can someone grow up, go to school, get a job, raise a family, and still routinely say things like, “I seen him take the car” or “We should have went years ago”?

My parents did not go to college. My dad actually had to drop out of high school a few months before graduating in order to get a job to help support the family (in 1939 or so). My brothers and sisters and I grew up in a working class suburb with working class friends. And we all knew better than to speak like that (English being our native language and all).

And I’m not talking about regional dialects like the Pittsburghese I’m so fond of — I”m OK with “redd up” or “yinz” or “worshing the car” or “needs fixed.”  But “I seen him worsh his car every Sunday” just makes me cringe. I’ve been cringing a lot lately.

I don’t mean to come off sounding all high and mighty and “grammar police” — and yes, I’m a writer, so such things are important to me. But I genuinely don’t understand. Teachers presumably spoke to you correctly for 12 years. Newspapers, magazines, and books are written using correct grammar (for the most part). TV shows are spoken using correct grammar (unless slang or incorrect speech is part of the character). How is the right way of speaking not absorbed as a matter of course? How does it just not sound right to say things like “I seen…” How has no one ever corrected these patterns over the years? How did it happen that so many people never learned the word “saw”? Who decided to substitute “seen” in the first place?

I just don’t get it. Are there any linguists out there who can enlighten me?

I personally believe we developed language
because of our deep inner need to complain.
~ Jane Wagner