Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Hey guys...

It's usual for me to say "hey guys..." or "excuse meguys..." when I run 
across male young people or in generale...but what I have to say when I 
bump into female young people from US? I dunno if "hey babes..." sounds 
cool.
Ciao...



Hmm, I'm not so sure they'd be flattered... If I'm not mistaken, it's
something like "Ué, fighe!".
Bye, FB
-- 
"What meaning of this, Mitter Twain?". "I will tell you, Mr Wang, if you
can tell me why a man who possesses one of the most brilliant minds of this
century can't say his prepositions or articles".
(Murder by Death)

Larry ha scritto:

The *only* safe thing to say is "Hey, beautiful women!"  :)
-- 
In case you're new to this NG, haven't been paying attention, have very
limited knowledge of English, or have Alzheimer's, let me state that the
foregoing is my opinion of modern, colloquial, American English. (With
apologies to the regular readers and the healthy, for the repetition.) I
point this out to avoid confusing the reader; references to British English
may appear to contradict the foregoing.
(And if you can read and comprehend the immediate foregoing message, your
level of English is not all that bad. :)
If you feel the need to e-mail me, un-not my address first.

...

You can say "Hey guys" to chicks as well, AFAIK.


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To girls only? Sure?
Bye, FB
-- 
Emily: "I'm going to Europe and I'm going to have a marvellous time. I'm
going to get up at ten and have two glasses of wine at lunch every single
day."
Richard: "Only prostitutes have two glasses of wine at lunch!"
(Gilmore Girls, 501)

 wrote in message
news:dontmesswithme-6F2...@twister1.tin.it...

I'm sure that the following applies only in the US.
Guy, singular, and guys, plural, have somewhat different uses.
In the singular, it would be used when addressing a male ("You're a
nice guy"), or when talking about a male ("Who was that weird guy in
the elevator?"). A female might say "I hope I meet a nice guy at the
party".
"Guys" in the plural has some unusual uses in the US. If I meet a
group of male friends, or a group of my son's young male friends, or a
mixed group of males and females, I would say something like "Hey,
(you) guys, what's going on?", as a greeting. In the course of the
conversation I might say something like "Well, what are you guys doing
for kicks tonight?", Then, when I left, I might say something like
"See you guys later".
But, if I meet my daughter somewhere with her young female friends, I
would not use "guys" in the initial greeting. I would say something
like "Hey, girls, how are you doing?". During the course of the
conversation I might say "What are you guys doing tonight?". And, when
I left them, I might say, "See you guys later".
These snippets of conversation are phrases which I (and my son and
daughter, and our extended family) use all the time. Somehow, when a
guy greets a group of girls, he never says "guys" in the initial
greeting, but "guys" is often used, at least among my extended family
and friends, for both males and females, in the conversation in
general, and in the salutation when leaving their company.
Another exception is that girls (and women) when meeting a group of
girls (or women) or in a conversation with a group of girls (or women)
often use "guys" those cases where you might normally expect "girls"
to be used.
I think that women often feel uncomfortable greeting each other as
"girls", and "ladies" seems a little formal, so they often prefer to
use "guys" in informal conversation.
If I am visiting my large family for the holidays, and I am addressing
my sisters and my sisters-in-law, I might say "Where are you guys
going for dinner tonight?".
This web site, which I found after writing the above observations, has
some interesting observations about the use of "guys" for both males
and females. Keep in mind that this all applies only to the US.
http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/homepages/022098/text/sexism.htm
Joe from Massachusetts
Joe from Massachusetts
Joe from Massachusetts

Keep in mind that this all applies only to the US.
Yes.  In the US
Guys - used for a group of males
Guys - used for a mixed group
Guys - it is now being used with increasing frequency to refer to a group of
females.
The article states the following:
He believes that the word "guy" is attractive to females because they associate
it with favorable aspects of masculinity, such as the freedom to dress and do
as they please, and to think for themselves. Males use "guys" in addressing a
mixed group of males and females as a way to let the females know that they are
considered part of the group. 
I have a different take on the whole thing.  It think it's used by females more
and more because the word "gal/gals" which used to be a common word decades
ago, has become obsolete.  You won't find anyone my age or younger using it. 
Being that there isn't a feminine counterpart for "guys",  we are almost forced
to use it for both sexes.  OF course, one could look at this phenomenon from a
different angle and say that "gal/gals" is no longer used because "guys" is
less of a sexist word.  It's the same phenomenon that is occurring with the
word actress.  Just in case you are not aware of it, you should not call anyone
"actress".
However, I really do think that guys has taken over because gals is now an old
word.
bye
ari

 To girls only? Sure?
Yep! Specialmente, credo, se chi saluta il gruppo di amiche e' un'altra 
donzella. See joscurtin's an Ari's more detailed answers, anyway.
Altra domanda. 
Si puo' dire "mate", come in "Listen, mate,..." (BrE), a una donna?
-- 
Enrico C using MyNewsGate.net
Private replies to: enrico DOT c AT people  DOT 
it
Inviato da 
www.mynewsgate.net


"Guys" is an old word, too.
I think that In the US "gals" went out of favor in the 1940s, and is
never used in normal conversation, but everyone is familiar with it,
from hearing it in old movies and songs. "My Gal Sal", "For me and my
gal", "Buffalo Gal Won't Ya Come Out Tonight".
Someone might use it mockingly or in an attempt at humor.
It is still used in the combined form "galpal", "gal-pal", "gal pal",
to mean female companion/friend/lover/who-knows-what. This was the
subject of a recent post, something about "What do you call your
....?".
This example about the use of "guys" on that web site was pretty
funny:
" a female nurse was instructing a class consisting of men and
pregnant women. At one point she said, "Now when you guys are going
into labor ..." Guys? Suddenly something is wrong, perhaps amusingly
so. "
Joe from Massachusetts

I think that In the US "gals" w
Yes, many words are old. In fact, I'd say most words  are "old".  So, let me
rephrase that:  gals is obsolete.  Guys is still  used and has taken over both
meanings.  Is that better?
ari

 Someone might use it mockingly or in an attempt at humor.
E che mi dici di "hello ladies!"? So che si puň usare in tono scherzoso,
l'ho sentito molte volte, ma non ho idea di come venga percepito
normalmente.
Sebastiano
-- 
J.D. : Elliot, come on. You're living out of a van like a homeless
person... or Jewel. 

E che mi dici di "hello ladies!"?
Yes, that's ok if it's used in the plural, but it's better not to call  a woman
"lady" in direct speech.  In other words, if a woman "drops" her wallet, don't
screem "excuse me lady!"  After almost four decades of living in the US, I
still can get that through my mother and I can't tell you how many times in the
supermarket I heard her screem "Excuse me lady!" while trying to get through
the isles.  People turn around and look at us and I'm like "OK, I'm not with
her...I don't know this person...I'm just helping her push the cart!"
bye
ari


I don't think there is any effort to eliminate the word "actress", or
that women who are actors find being called "actress" offensive.
When an ad is placed in a newspaper saying: "Looking for actor to
portray 200-pound drug addict", it would be a total waste of time for
50% of the applicants, if "actress" were to be eliminated from the
vocabulary.
The word is still very common.
An actress might not like it when a fan says "You're the best actress
in the world", because this could imply that she's only the best woman
actor, and that many men are better actors. There are times when the
word "actor" may be favored over "actress", but "actress" is not going
away. Perhaps only in the acting profession (and perhaps one other
which I won't mention here) is the sex of a person the first item of
consideration for most roles, necessitating the use of the convenient
words "actor" and "actress" by casting directors.
When listing a profession, female actors may list theirs as "actor".
Some biographies may list someone's profession as "actor", whether
male or female.
A google search for "I am an actress" shows that there are many women
who claim this title.
Similarly, if you Google "sex female profession actor" and "sex female
profession actress" you will find that some female actors consider
themselves actors by profession, and others consider themselves
actresses by profession.
The same goes for comedian/comedienne.
Joe from Massachusetts

that women who are actors find being called "actress" offensive.
I don't know where you are, but where I am the word "actress" is politically
incorrect.
http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/l/li/list_of_female_movie_a
ctors.html
http://www.bookpage.com/0206bp/audio/mcbain_audio_feature.html
(see second paragraph)
http://www.fact-index.com/a/ac/actor.html
(read under Term)
There are tons of links on the web that explain that.  
Personally, I think it's an idiocy to do away with the word "actress" as it
implies that there is no difference between men and women "actors".
bye
ari


It's not politically incorrect in Massachusetts, but I do think that
when acting is discussed as a profession, the word "actor" is used
much more now than it was in the past, for both men and women.
Maybe there should be new categories at the Oscars and the Emmys -
"Best overall performance" in each category. Man against woman.
Maybe we could start using "thespian" again to mean "actor", since
"thespian" has no gender attached to it.
Male thespians and female thespians........
When George Smathers defeated Claude Pepper for the Senate in an
election in Florida in the 1950s, it was said that he won because he
had claimed that Pepper had a "thespian" sister and a "Homo sapiens"
brother.
Joe from Massachusetts

 screem "excuse me lady!"
Might it be seen as rude, sometimes? I mean, can't "lady" be intended as a
way of keeping one's distance from someone else?
Bye, FB
-- 
"Is this Miss Prism a female of repellent aspect, remotely connected with
education?". "She is the most cultivated of ladies, and the very picture of
respectability". "It is obviously the same person".
("The Importance of Being Earnest", Oscar Wilde)

 her...I don't know this person...I'm just helping her push the cart!"
LOL
Sebastiano
-- 
Nurse Carla Espinosa: You fixed The Todd? 

way of keeping one's distance from someone else?
No, I don't think that's the reason.  The reason is that "lady" has become a
pejorative.  Let me see if I can find an explanation on the web.
bye
ari

> supermarket I heard her screem
There  is "screem" again!!!!  I want to SCREAM!  I must have been drunk when I
wrote those posts.
bye
ari

 Si puo' dire "mate", come in "Listen, mate,..." (BrE), a una donna?
non lo so, ma di certo non lo direi mai.
-- 
Yeah, whatever...

 the isles.  
A mermaid? ;->


I used to have a job delivering dresses, pushing a hand truck, in the
Garment District in New :York. The sidewalks of the Garment District
are full of pedestrians, and hand trucks. Once the truck got moving,
it was hard to steer or stop, visibility was impaired by the stacks of
boxes, and I was always in a hurry. If a woman was in my way, and in
danger of being run down, I would yell "Hey, lady, watch your back!",
at the top of my voice. (Actually, it was more like "Hey, lady,
WATCHYABACK!"). I often had to speed away from women who were
near-misses, or who were frightened out of their wits by a
loud-mouthed nut pushing a hand truck and screaming in their ears.
They were attempting to find out where I worked so they could file a
complaint about my erratic hand truck.
People responsible for crowd control will often use "lady" when
someone doesn't follow their directions, and it is much more effective
than a polite "Miss" or "Madam". "Hey lady, get back in line" "Hey,
lady, where do you think you're going?".
If I saw that a woman quite some distance away had dropped her wallet
in the street, the easiest way to get her attention would be to yell
"Hey, lady, you dropped your wallet". But if she were standing next to
me, it would be "Excuse me, Miss (Ma'am) but I think you dropped your
wallet".
Waiters or hotel employees, as a way of maintaining the respectful
distance (as you have noted, FB) that their status requires, will
often use "lady" in the third person, especially when the "lady" is
accompanied by a man.. "Is the lady ready to order now?". "Is the lady
traveling with you?" "Will the lady be needing anything else?".
A direct compliment, using "lady", such as "You are a real lady", or
"She is a real lady", is fairly common. Young girls are sometimes
admonished by their mothers to "act more ladylike". "She's no lady" is
also sometimes used by men.
It seems contradictory that the same word can be viewed as
complimentary, rude, or as a way of maintaining socially-proscribed
distance, depending on the circumstances.
Joe from Massachusetts

 her...I don't know this person...I'm just helping her push the cart!"
LOL
But what about that expression: "I'm like... "? Has it been discussed here?
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accompanied by a man.. "Is the lady ready to order now?".
Yes, but again, I was talking about direct speech.  Lady is still very much
used when using the third person.
bye
ari

A mermaid? ;->
Si'.  Siamo due sirene.

 But what about that expression: "I'm like... "? Has it been discussed here?
It can be translated as "Io faccio..." or with the Romanesco "dice". I
don't think either is appropriate here.
Bye, FB
-- 
Io ho deciso di rifiutarmi di vederlo: Ettore con la faccia di Eric Banana
mi fa venire i conati.
(commento sul film "Troy" apparso su it.fan.scrittori.tolkien)

don't think either is appropriate here.
I would not translate it "io faccio".  I would say it's more "io penso" o "io
dico".  It's similar to "I go". It's a very common and very colloquial
expression used mainly by young people.  Don't forget I work in a school.
Believe it or not, I wrote that on purpose.  I try to insert in my posts as
many expressions, words and idioms that you would not get from written
English..  In one of my latest posts I used the expression "how come" in a
statement.  That was placed there on purpose in place of  "that's why" . 
That's also very colloquial when used in a statement and not a question.  So,
when I read your post I'm like "oh these people are freakishly thorough and I
have to explain it now!"
bye
ari

 used when using the third person.
I have to agree that the word is rarely, if ever, used in direct
speech, at least not in the US. I wonder about the UK?
Joe from Massachusetts

 have to explain it now!"
I agree that it is hard to explain to Italian speakers that a phrase
like "How come(?)", both as a question and an answer, is universal in
the spoken language in the US, even though it is probably not used at
all in the UK, and won't even be mentioned in the dictionaries and
grammars of the UK. Even the American dictionaries don't explain fully
how the phrase is used. All you can do is cite examples of its use,
and explain how common and acceptable it is here, and the Italians
will wonder whether they should believe you, when what you say is not
in their dictionaries.
Joe from Massachusetts

 grammars of the UK.
As a question, I'd say it's quite common in BritEng; as an answer, I've
never come across it, so I don't know.
In fact it's easy to understand it, since it translates quite easily as
"com'è che... ?", "come si spiega che... ?".


all in the UK
It's very common in the UK.

 all in the UK
How do you use it as an answer? You mean it can be used to mean
"because"?
-- 
Mary

 :)
Is "beautiful" the right adjective to be used? 
I mean, they could feel not appreciated for their 
/intelligence/, but only for their external appearence.
 
-- 
Today no, tomorrow yes.

 cool.
Non si usa mai "fellows" ?


 cool.
C'era quel film col povero Marlon Brando:
Guys and Dolls
(Bulli e pupe)



Not "because", but "why".
Ex: that's why I have bruises on my forehead  =  That's how come I have bruises
on my forehead (that was my original sentence)
I cannot think of an instance where it could be used in place of "because". 
For example,  you can say "I have bruises on my head *because* I didn't see the
tree and walked right  into it", but you couldn't say "I have bruises on my
head *how come* I didn't see the tree and walked into it"  O you couldn't
answer a question using *how come* instead of *because*.
I am not an authority, but it seems to me that how come in place of why in
interrogative sentences is colloquial.  How come in affirmative sentences is
VERY colloquial.
bye
ari

 on my forehead (that was my original sentence)
Oh, right - that seems obvious to me: I thought you meant something
really weird. You can also use it that way in the UK.
-- 
Mary

"Mary Cassidy" <ma...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:4172E2FC...@invalid.invalid...

Not exactly.
"She wants to know how come you didn't call". "I'm mad at her, that's
how come".
"How come you didn't pick me up at the station?". "You had the keys to
the car, that's how come!".
"Do you always drive like this?" "Yes, that's how come I usually take
the bus".
"Tell me how come you hit little Suzy". "I'm not going to tell you how
come."
"How come he's always late?" "I'll tell you how come when I find out."
Joe from Massachusetts

 many expressions, words and idioms that you would not get from written
That's why I asked about it [expressions such as "I'm like..."] It's been
around for a long time here, and I was very resistant to it in the
beginning. It just seemed like bad English, something that someone who
didn't have a good vocabulary or command of the language would use.
Like so many idioms that enter into the language however, it is very
difficult to replace efficiently with anything that comes close to
conveying its full range of meanings.
In its simplest, it means "I said"; it also means "I felt", "I thought", "I
hoped", "I couldn't believe", and even "you wouldn't believe this happened
but it really did and my reaction was..."
It's very efficient; very hard to avoid. If you write any dialog that's
suppposed to be between any two people under 45, you will *have* to include
this construction. :)



Sometimes you have to use a calculator to count the number of times
you here "I'm like..." "I was like.." "Then he like..." in a
conversation between young people. This could be a translator's
nightmare. It gets to be distracting after a while, especially if you
are listening to someone being interviewed on TV. I don't think it is
used in the UK.
I wonder if it originated from "Valley speak"?
Joe from Massachusetts

beginning. It just seemed like bad English,
Well, I think it is bad English, but that's how kids speak.  If  you have young
people living with you, you're very familiar with "I'm like..."  "and then I
go...." "and then she goes..."  etc.  I think we discussed valley speak in the
past didn't we?  
bye
ari

 wrote in message
news:G0Ccd.51713$b5.26...@news3.tin.it...

My sister uses "fellow". I never use it. Where my sister would say
"She is married to a carpenter. He is a very nice fellow", I would say
"He is a nice guy".
Fellow as an adjective is different. It is very common.
Also fellow, meaning member, or brother, is common, (fellows of the
Lodge, fellows of the society, etc.).
"He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Linguists."
Joe from Massachusetts

go...." "and then she goes..."  etc.  
If you connect to some server where people (also) chat online (IRC,
other chats, MUDs, Go Servers, Chess Servers, and so on) you can find
someome  who use "I'm like..." too.
BTW, yesterday I've read on a Go Server someome using "imma" instead
of "I'm gonna" , it was not hard to understand, just a bit weird :-)
I've saved the game with the comments,  this is what he said in the
kibitz:
"alcohol [6k]: ok imma shut up now... u guys bring out the worst in
me"
'bye

 of "I'm gonna" , it was not hard to understand, just a bit weird :-)
Fairly common in casual, rapid speech.


 Fairly common in casual, rapid speech.
BTW, I should have pointed out that it's better to use the simple past
tense with an adverb of time:
"BTW, yesterday I *read* on a Go Server..."


My sister uses "fellow". I never use it. 
Neither do I.  It sounds a little old to me, just like the word "gal"
bye
ari

 females.
It's the same thing with Italian too
We usually say:
Hey ragazzi - used for a group of males
Hey ragazzi - used for a mixed group
Hey ragazze - used for just girls
Daniel

 I wonder if it originated from "Valley speak"?
What about "kind of" and "sort of"? Recently I listened to an interview and
it would have been half as long without "kind of".
Bye, FB
-- 
"Come, dear, we have already missed five, if not six, trains. To miss any
more might expose us to comment on the platform."
("The Importance of Being Earnest", Oscar Wilde)

 Hey ragazze - used for just girls
Do we (say "Hey")?
Bye, FB 
-- 
Se dico "siedi!" manca l'oggetto.
Siedo chi? Lei o me?
(da it.cultura.linguistica.italiano)

 Do we (say "Hey")?
Ehi
-- 
Yeah, whatever...

"BTW, yesterday I *read* on a Go Server..."
Thanks.
'bye