Guest Commentary: Dude, what”s up with dude?
In the U.K. there is a joke, “Americans do not speak English, they speak slang.” Tis true, as residents of the United States we have formed our own twist on “English.” America is a melting pot of languages and cultures with people hailing from all nations and races who bring their customs and sayings with them, which in time, integrate into our everyday speech, for example, the word pal comes from the Romani, Gypsy, word meaning brother.
In America, we use it all the time: “Hey, pal!, “What a pal. etc. and though we associate slang with the younger generations, many terms you hear around high school campuses and skate parks are in fact, quite old. “Whazzup?” did not come from that notorious beer commercial of the ”90s, it was an actual slang-greeting used by both English and American Dandies and Bohemians in the late eighteenth century.
But before we go further, think for just a moment, what is the most commonly used slang term in America? That would likely be dude. Hey dude! Dude, what was that? or just simply: Dude!
The word is extremely flexible and can be used in almost any context, however, it seems that no one is using the word in its true context, let alone when and where it originates from.
Since the 1950s, dude has come to be associated with California surfers, beach bums and cowboys; in contemporary times, we often use the word to refer to an extremely masculine man. What is so ironic, is the fact that these contexts are completely opposite from the true definition of the word. The term dude originates in the 19th century and is the American term for a dandy. Dudes were wealthy, metro-sexual young men who were born into privilege; never having to work a day in their lives and spending all their inheritance on frivolities, imagine a male version of Paris Hilton.
Because of changes from the industrial revolution, most dudes chose to push out west and start a new life. Unfortunately, they had never lived outside of the city. Thence, dude ranches were developed. Communities where dandies could purchase property, hire legitimate Cowboys to work for them and learn what it meant to work, experiencing the rural life first hand. Because of their incompetence and ignorance, the cowboy”s started calling them dudes. Interestingly, two of our President”s were dudes, Theodore Roosevelt journeyed west to live on a dude ranch. Legend has it, he couldn”t even fire a gun correctly and was so inept at ranch work they called him the “King of Dudes.” Chester A. Arthur was coined “The Dude of White House Residents,” because of his continuous attempt to be a good ol” country boy despite his dandyish ways. If this is the true definition of the word, how did we get so far away from the truth? Why do we give it so many connotations and yet, do not know its real meaning?
I confess, I too use dude a lot in my casual speech, but hey, I”m a Californian born and raised. Everyone says dude here, but I also have an insatiable curiosity to know what exactly it is I”m saying and so, I investigate and read a lot. Knowledge is power and the best source of knowledge is in a book. What often bothers me when I converse with, or overhear others speaking, is how often they don”t realize what they”re saying. Shouldn”t that be an important aspect in one”s life? To know what exactly it is we”re saying and be able to choose our words carefully? Think of how much trouble we could avoid by knowing exactly how to navigate around putting our feet in our mouths.
Imagine how much wiser and more articulate we could be if we simply found the motivation to seek knowledge no matter how trivial it seems. So, here”s a homework assignment for you all. I want you to take a word or a saying you”ve always used or heard in your life, look up the origins and then share it with someone. Share it with me if you like.
I”m always looking to add to my shoebox of pointless, yet-you”d-be-surprised-when-it-comes-in-handy, knowledge.
Michelle Berger is a contributing writer to the Record-Bee. When not writing, she”s usually reenacting fight scenes from Kung Fu flicks.
