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Dude, Where’s My Grammar?
Lately I’ve been seeing grown men (and some women) calling each other “dude.”
Businessmen calling each other dude.
Now, in my opinion, you should never, ever do business with someone who insists on using “dude.” That being said, a few days ago one of my clients called me “dude.”
He’s in his late 40s, employs over a thousand people, and regarded as a captain of industry.
I was stunned. Speechless, even. As some of you know, that’s no small miracle.
But he called me “Dude.” A captain of industry just used of surfer/Valley lingo on me!
Well, it didn’t turn out to be such a big deal after all, and I’m thinking of rethinking my position about the use of the word.
Not that I’m ever going to use it, but maybe I’m making too big a deal about it when adults do.
Maybe in today’s world “dude” is equivalent to the word “bud” 40 to 50 years ago, or the popularity of adding “man” to the beginning and end of sentences in the 60’s and 70’s.
Maybe they’re all designed to accomplish the same thing — create a sense of instant intimacy whether it exists there or not.
And realistically, is that such a bad thing? In the right context, it creates an automatic and frequently reciprocal warmth in a medium that frequently fails to convey such.
Dude . . . maybe it’s a good thing.
What do you think?
By Walter |
Topics: It's A Good Thing, Lessons Learned, Pet Peeves |