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tastyonions
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
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Speaks: English*, French, Spanish
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| Message 1 of 31 20 November 2013 at 7:14pm | IP Logged |
Original article
Quote:
English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet
Let's start with the dull stuff, because pragmatism.
The word "because," in standard English usage, is a subordinating conjunction, which means that it connects two parts of a sentence in which one (the subordinate) explains the other. In that capacity, "because" has two distinct forms. It can be followed either by a finite clause (I'm reading this because [I saw it on the web]) or by a prepositional phrase (I'm reading this because [of the web]). These two forms are, traditionally, the only ones to which "because" lends itself.
I mention all that ... because language. Because evolution. Because there is another way to use "because." Linguists are calling it the "prepositional-because." Or the "because-noun."
You probably know it better, however, as explanation by way of Internet—explanation that maximizes efficiency and irony in equal measure. I'm late because YouTube. You're reading this because procrastination. As the language writer Stan Carey delightfully sums it up: "'Because' has become a preposition, because grammar."
...It's a usage, in other words, that is exceptionally bloggy and aggressively casual and implicitly ironic. And also highly adaptable. Carey has unearthed instances of the "because-noun" construction with the noun in question being, among other terms, "science, math, people, art, reasons, comedy, bacon, ineptitude, fun, patriarchy, politics, school, intersectionality, and winner." (Intersectionality! Because THEORY. Bacon! Because BACON.)
But the formulation isn't simply limited to nouns. Carey again:
The construction is more versatile than “because+noun” suggests. Prepositional because can be yoked to verbs (Can’t talk now because cooking), adjectives (making up examples because lazy), interjections (Because yay!), and maybe adverbs too, though in strings like Because honestly., the adverb is functioning more as an exclamation. The resulting phrases are all similarly succinct and expressive. |
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Any thoughts? Seems kind of faddish to me, and as far as I can tell it is restricted to the written language (never heard anyone use this form in speech), but I guess we'll see.
Edited by tastyonions on 20 November 2013 at 7:15pm
6 persons have voted this message useful
| nicozerpa
Triglot
Senior Member
Argentina
Joined 4330 days ago
182 posts - 315 votes
Speaks: Spanish*, Portuguese, English
Studies: Italian, German
| Message 2 of 31 20 November 2013 at 7:29pm | IP Logged |
I always thought that people who use "because" this way were just playing with the
language. There are other deliberately ungrammatical words/expressions that are popular
on the Internet. The Doge meme or "Do you even English?" are some examples.
BTW, I've seen a few people in Spanish using the word "porque" (because) as a preposition too.
Edited by nicozerpa on 20 November 2013 at 7:46pm
2 persons have voted this message useful
| Thatzright
Diglot
Senior Member
Finland
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| Message 3 of 31 20 November 2013 at 7:34pm | IP Logged |
nicozerpa wrote:
I always thought that people who use "because" this way were only
playing with the
language. There are other deliberately ungrammatical words/expressions that are popular
on the Internet. The Doge meme or "Do you even English?" are some examples.
BTW, I've seen a few people in Spanish using the word "porque" (because) as a
preposition
too. |
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This is my impression as well. I sometimes use "because" like this and it's definitely
intended to simply be playful. I mean, as far as I know, nobody does this outside the
internet and therefore the whole thing should probably be seen as just another meme,
not something that will actually catch on.
And yes, it happens in Finnish too with "koska" (because). It's usually teenagers and
wannabe-wisemen using it in sarcastical commentary.
Edited by Thatzright on 20 November 2013 at 7:35pm
3 persons have voted this message useful
| tastyonions
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
goo.gl/UIdChYRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4669 days ago
1044 posts - 1823 votes
Speaks: English*, French, Spanish
Studies: Italian
| Message 4 of 31 20 November 2013 at 7:39pm | IP Logged |
Can't say that I've seen it in French yet, even in the bottom of the linguistic barrel (YouTube).
2 persons have voted this message useful
| 
emk
Diglot
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United States
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Personal Language Map
| Message 5 of 31 20 November 2013 at 8:56pm | IP Logged |
I found an interesting Language Log thread from last year with tons of examples in the comments, including one poster in Pittsburgh who apparently hears this all the time in informal spoken English.
Five minutes of Googling reveals no sign this has crossed over into French Internet slang the way "Epic fail" has.
1 person has voted this message useful
| geoffw
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
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| Message 6 of 31 20 November 2013 at 9:02pm | IP Logged |
I can haz cheezburger?
No.
Y?
Because.
2 persons have voted this message useful
| Chung
Diglot
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20 sounds
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| Message 7 of 31 20 November 2013 at 9:21pm | IP Logged |
tastyonions wrote:
Original article
Quote:
English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet
Let's start with the dull stuff, because pragmatism.
The word "because," in standard English usage, is a subordinating conjunction, which means that it connects two parts of a sentence in which one (the subordinate) explains the other. In that capacity, "because" has two distinct forms. It can be followed either by a finite clause (I'm reading this because [I saw it on the web]) or by a prepositional phrase (I'm reading this because [of the web]). These two forms are, traditionally, the only ones to which "because" lends itself.
I mention all that ... because language. Because evolution. Because there is another way to use "because." Linguists are calling it the "prepositional-because." Or the "because-noun."
You probably know it better, however, as explanation by way of Internet—explanation that maximizes efficiency and irony in equal measure. I'm late because YouTube. You're reading this because procrastination. As the language writer Stan Carey delightfully sums it up: "'Because' has become a preposition, because grammar."
...It's a usage, in other words, that is exceptionally bloggy and aggressively casual and implicitly ironic. And also highly adaptable. Carey has unearthed instances of the "because-noun" construction with the noun in question being, among other terms, "science, math, people, art, reasons, comedy, bacon, ineptitude, fun, patriarchy, politics, school, intersectionality, and winner." (Intersectionality! Because THEORY. Bacon! Because BACON.)
But the formulation isn't simply limited to nouns. Carey again:
The construction is more versatile than “because+noun” suggests. Prepositional because can be yoked to verbs (Can’t talk now because cooking), adjectives (making up examples because lazy), interjections (Because yay!), and maybe adverbs too, though in strings like Because honestly., the adverb is functioning more as an exclamation. The resulting phrases are all similarly succinct and expressive. |
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Any thoughts? Seems kind of faddish to me, and as far as I can tell it is restricted to the written language (never heard anyone use this form in speech), but I guess we'll see. |
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-1 (that is, I couldn't bring myself to use this structure considering that it doesn't impart more communicative value than existing structures. Eeewww. Your sense that it's faddish is bang-on for me.)
4 persons have voted this message useful
| Hekje
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4707 days ago
842 posts - 1330 votes
Speaks: English*, Dutch
Studies: French, Indonesian
| Message 8 of 31 20 November 2013 at 9:29pm | IP Logged |
I actually do hear this in speech pretty frequently - and use it myself (context: 21-year-old American in the
Northeast).
However, this use of "because" is really only suitable for joking around between friends. As nicozerpa said, it's really
just co-opting a meme. We use it because it sticks out like a sore thumb and is obviously wrong. Therefore, I don't
see this going on the path to legitimacy anytime soon.
4 persons have voted this message useful
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