Language and Dialect: Everyday Life

        From recording everyday conversation at my soccer tournament in Rockford, language was largely used with little thought or meaning.  It was casual, indirect, sarcastic, superficial, facetious, and unfortunately, often insensitive.  Yet fortunately, these words only describe the banter of immature teenage boys, rather than that of mature adults.  Observing chatter among adults this weekend, there were substantially fewer diversions from Standard American English, and also in chatter between boys and adults.  The conversation I transcribed took place at Olive Garden, and had many micro-conversations, with little polite listening.  Some of the insensitivity included "Bro, your school's a jail cell," "You girls need to brush your stinky teeth," and "You are hobos without shoes on."  These comments were atypical for everyday conversation, but many of the other conversations that I observed had similar derogatory remarks.  Interestingly, in the conversation that I observed, there was also an omission of the verb "to be," like in The Color Purple.  There is also a good deal of hyperbole present, as well as idioms; for example, "Dude.  The pasta fagioli is to die for.  I get it every time."  Sentences, too, were often incomplete.  One person said, "The breadsticks.  Yes."  Overall, the conversation would have received an "F" on proper use of SAE.