Sladky. I extend an appy polly loggy for interrupting such a horrorshow discussion but I wonder if the devotchka Duendy isn't working on her own version of nadsat. Some within the gruppa may misconstrue her usage of the English language as gloopy, or grazzy-govoreet, and deem her no gulliver (certainly no mozg) but maybe she's no shoot afterall and is leading us into the future. A little filly with language isn't baddiwad as long as its understood. No need for shilarny as language just like jeezny must change with time. What seems like chepooka today will become the favoured usage by gazettas and surely sanctioned by bolshy-brat tomorrow. So come on my chelloveck end this bitva of wits and join the program, forget the starry way and make cal up oddy knocky. Just kidding duendy. Don't get your knickers in a twist it will just give these guys a pan-handle. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Actually its Anthony Burgess 'A Clockwork Orange'. Nadsat lexicon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadsat_lexicon
This is because of a particular sonority principle: If a voiceless consonant is followed by a voiced consonant, that voiceless one becomes voiced. But try saying "It tastes cold" or "it tastes prickly" -- and it's [teists]. This is a very strong phonological principle in English. So strong even that English has voiced endings: dog [dog], dogs [dogz].
Yes it was McDowell. I don't think Burgess could afford to make Nadsat more obscure and still have Clockwork published. He also received criticism for using improper or difficult punctuation in 'A Dead Man in Deptford'.
Excuse me but I was there and observed the phrase come into usage. It was the very early 1960s, before the Beat Generation gave way to the Flower Children. Cynicism and pessimism were in vogue, the trendmakers were soooo tired of humanity's foibles. There were several variations on it. "Really care," with the first person subject implied, was another, which didn't catch on so widely. Both were pronounced with the slow cadence and descending tone of weary sarcasm. "I could caarre leeeeesss." As if to say, "If you believe what I'm saying then you must also believe that we did the world a favor by replacing Hitler with Stalin as the reigning bully and killing off tens of millions of people in the process." I don't believe I said "ironic," I'm sure I said "sarcastic," which is quite different. You are apparently British. Sarcasm doesn't translate well even within two dialects of the same language. Most of us don't get Mr. Bean at all (if that's British sarcasm--I have no idea what is taken as sarcasm over there) and I'm sure most of you just scratch your head at Jane Curtin. "Experts" can do a pretty good job on the origin of phrases in written language because the records are there. They don't do so well with spoken language and in this case they're simply dead wrong because they can't hear what we who were there at the time heard. Sarcasm does not survive the transition into print at all.] Again, I was there. My own elders, people who were born before the turn of the last century tossed that phrase around a lot. It was another one in which tone of voice was key and therefore people who are working from the written record simply will never be able to get it right.
