My toddler has been acquiring speech at breakneck pace lately. It is fascinating to watch this language development in action. There's so much at work making it happen, from psychology to environment to basic brain chemistry. But as I listen to how he picks up words, I can't help but laugh as I ponder the phrases themselves.
Take, for instance, two of our most common interjectory phrases, oh boy and oh man. Where en exclamation of "Oh boy!" would doubtless indicate a person's excitement and pleasure, "Oh man!" seems much more likely to express frustration or disappointment.
Now why should that be? Is not a "man" simply an older version of a "boy"? One is not inherently opposed to the other. So why are the meanings of the phrases those words create when combined with "Oh" diametrically different?
A skilled linguist (which I'm not) could probably do a quick bit of research and find a perfectly reasonable explanation. The time it would take a layman to satisfy her curiosity, though, would be probably be prohibitive.
So I'm content to merely revel in the irony of "oh boy" versus "oh man." It's an interesting question--and far from the only oddball juxtaposition in English. I'd like to see Word-wise become more conversational, so let me hear from you: what ironies in the language do you enjoy pondering?
© 2008 by AnnaLisa Michalski