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Whatever - It is what it is - Just sayin’ | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| TerryW Senior Member United States Joined 6358 days ago 370 posts - 783 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 13 05 December 2010 at 4:31pm | IP Logged |
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These are some very common expressions in English (in the U.S., anyway) used in conversation:
Whatever. - Since it encompasses any condition or situation, is it just a way for somebody to get out of responding with anything meaningful? It is what it is. - Hey, no kiddin'. Is this also just a way for someone to avoid having to elaborate? Just sayin'. - Does this imply more than the obvious fact that something was just said? - Are these all just "placeholders," and a way to respond without saying anything, or are there shades of meaning in context. For example, "Just sayin'" could mean, "Hate to say something negative to you, but I think you should know."? - Are there any more similar ones in English? - Are there equivalents used in other languages, either literal translations of the above, or something else? - Is this the stupidest thread ever started, and should it be deleted? Just askin'. ;-) Edited by TerryW on 05 December 2010 at 4:35pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5336 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 2 of 13 05 December 2010 at 6:30pm | IP Logged |
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I have to admit, I use "just sayin'" quite a lot. To me is means something like "I don’t mean to offend you and I’m afraid you’ll take this too seriously but I’m going to make this smart-ass remark anyway.”
As for translations, I like the Dutch phrase “Lekker belangrijk” which means something like “Nicely important” but you can be sure that when people say it to you they don’t think what you said is important or interesting in the least. ;-) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Sierra Diglot Senior Member Turkey livinginlights.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 7125 days ago 296 posts - 411 votes Speaks: English*, SwedishB1 Studies: Turkish | Message 3 of 13 05 December 2010 at 6:41pm | IP Logged |
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I think that "whatever" is kind of a dismissive way to express that you aren't
particularly interested in what someone else is saying: Girl: Your shoes don't match your shirt! Boy: Yeah, whatever. (Read: I don't care about my shoes not matching OR your opinion on the matter). It is what it is: Unlike "whatever," I think of this as a much more mature phrase (how eloquent I am today). I don't consider it a placeholder at all, but rather a way of saying "there's nothing we can do about the circumstances except accept them." As for "just sayin'"- well, I use this one more than the other two, usually either to follow up a smart-ass remark, like ReneeMona said, or when I realize that I've said something not particularly useful or relevant and want to kind of laugh it off. Shades of meaning? Definitely. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5767 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 4 of 13 05 December 2010 at 7:44pm | IP Logged |
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I think I've heard 'whatever' with at least two different intonantions.
Whatever with a soft, falling intonation or a sigh - I think we're done talking about that topic and even though I'm not satisfied I'll come up with a conclusion, pick the next topic or leave it to you to do either Whatever with stress on the second syllable, maybe amplified by a glottal stop or creaky voice - we can't come to an agreement so it's pointless to keep on talking about that topic I also think that Just sayin' is a way to soften the accompanying statement. Other than I think/I mean it doesn't achieve it by emphasizing that it's your own opinion, but by implying that your statement wasn't (that) relevant to the topic/situation. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Spanky Senior Member Canada Joined 5957 days ago 1021 posts - 1714 votes Studies: French | Message 5 of 13 05 December 2010 at 8:59pm | IP Logged |
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I agree with the above two posts about "whatever" and "just saying". "Whatever" more
and more in my experience is used dismissively, but in context it can have a less abrasive meaning. I use "just sayin'" quite a lot, almost always following some smart- ass, light-natured comment. I personally hate hearing "It is what it is", but I hear it way more frequently than I hear the near-equivalent "I yam what I yam" - the latter is used almost exclusively by Popeye and occasionally by some tubers. Edited by Spanky on 05 December 2010 at 9:12pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| SamD Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 6660 days ago 823 posts - 987 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese, Norwegian | Message 6 of 13 06 December 2010 at 12:50am | IP Logged |
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These expressions remind me of "You know what I'm saying?" which I am growing weary of hearing.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| irrationale Tetraglot Senior Member China Joined 6051 days ago 669 posts - 1023 votes 2 sounds Speaks: English*, Spanish, Mandarin, Tagalog Studies: Ancient Greek, Japanese | Message 7 of 13 06 December 2010 at 4:14am | IP Logged |
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I'll admit it right here; "whatever" is something English has that is really a joker card of a word. It is so simple and potent, slang casual English at its absolute finest.
It's hard to live without and something I miss when I speak other languages. The Chinese 随便 comes close, but you can't use it as a retort, you can't use its dark side...it just isn't the same. Edited by irrationale on 06 December 2010 at 4:15am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Lianne Senior Member Canada thetoweringpile.blog Joined 5116 days ago 284 posts - 410 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Esperanto, Toki Pona, German, French | Message 8 of 13 06 December 2010 at 6:21am | IP Logged |
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Oh, whatever. A versatile word if ever there was one. As someone who was not too long ago a teenager, I still use it perhaps more than I should. When accompanied by an eye roll, it could mean that you realise you're wrong and don't want to admit it, and just want to move on to another topic already. Or, as in the teenage-to-parent case, it could mean "I can't believe how uncool you are that you don't see my point of view."
Yeah, I can see how that might be difficult for people to learn if their first language doesn't have an equivalent. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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