In Bierma's recent column he discussed how a Californian staple, "I'm all" has been displaced by "I'm like." Apparently the usage of "I'm all" for an informal quote signal was quite popular in the 90s, but has faded out. I have heard it, but not that much. In one study, in 1994 people used "I'm all" for informal quotes 45% of the time, compared to less than 5% now. Have you noticed that decrease? Apparently it was popular on the West coast; how about in the rest of the U.S.? Or in England?

I just got a note from Nathan Bierma that the Tribune is deciding whether to continue his columns on a regular basis. Doesn't it just figure? With all the fluff they have, they decide that this column should be nixed. I have always thought that Bierma has researched his columns thorougly and has provided his readers with insightful answers, as well as questions. I have enjoyed his columns and will surely miss him if that happens.

"I'm all"

Isn't/wasn't it Valleyspeak? I've not heard "i'm all" other than on TV, although "I'm like" I've occasionally heard locally.

quote: I have enjoyed his columns and will surely miss him if that happens.

Bring him here!

So he was like "Yea"
And I'm like "Really?"
And he was all "Totally!"
And I'm all "<tsk> Whatever."
<big sigh>

I think of this as teen-speak, and not just valley-speak.

Some of the more recent animated movies have had characters that use this vernacular.

From http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543/]Finding Nemo:

quote:

[Marlin, the clown fish wakes up after jumping through a forest of jelly fish]
Crush, the sea turtle riding the East Australian Current: Oh, he lives. Hey, dude!
Marlin: Oh... What happened?
Crush: Saw the whole thing, dude. First you were all like "whoa", and we were like "whoa", and you were like "whoa...”
Marlin: What are you talking about?
Crush: You, Mini-Man, takin' on the jellies. You've got serious thrill issues, dude. Awesome.

And from Over the Hedge:

quote:

Verne: [when questioned about the food] I returned it to its rightful owner.
Ozzie: What?
Heather: We, like, worked our tails off, y'know? Like a lot! And the food we gathered was totally... you know! And you're, you're all whatever!

Another way I've heard this used is . . .

quote:

And he was, like, all up in my face, so I punched him.

How about some fan mail to the Trib to keep the man's column alive? Between us and World Wide Words and....(your best suggestion here), we could probably kick up quite a wave of support.

What's the email address for letters to the editor?
We don't have to say we know they're about to zap his column; just that we love his column so much because it informs and educates us and helps trigger some of our best discussions.

Like, we can go all "Moveon.org" on their butts!

Wordmatic

I did write the editor, and he sent me back a short reply saying, "Thank you for the note. Hope you enjoyed it in Tuesday's Tribune." Apparently every so often they will carry Bierma. Here is the editor's email address in case someone else would like to write him as well: TBannon@tribune.com. His first name is Tim. Bierma's column was such bright star in a newspaper that needs a few more bright stars!