The Horrible Word Dude
Joshua
English 1/Dr. Ivanova
Intro Unit Essay Rough Draft
The Horrible Word Dude
Has anyone ever called you “dude?” How did it make you feel, and do you even know the meaning behind the word? What if, as time goes on, the use of the word dude becomes widespread; almost an epidemic on the World? Young children forget words like Mr and Mrs, Sir and Ma’am, and just call everyone dude. As time goes on these “children of the dude” grow up and take over the World. War breaks out because one “children of the dude” calls a North Korean radical a dude. Missiles are launched, towns are destroyed, and the entire Earth goes in to a state of panic and decline. North Korea wins the war, because they can communicate to their soldiers better, and the entire World turns giving in to the communist rule. All of this happens because we allow children to use the horrible word dude. Now, of course, the story above is just a story but does anyone even remember the true definition of the word dude? As stated by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Definition of DUDE - a man extremely fastidious in dress and manner; a city dweller unfamiliar with life on the range.” The usage of the word today falls more towards the Wikipedia definition which states, “An American English slang term generally used informally to address or refer to somebody.” As one can see from the difference in these two definitions there has been a complete change in the meaning of the word since its arrival to the English language in the 1880s. In the beginning the word was used to describe a sharp dressed man living on the East Coast that was unfamiliar with the ways of the “Wild West” and living off the land. In this day and age it is used to address someone you are talking to, “What’s up dude?” Has society fallen so much over the past 131 years that we have forgotten the respect and formality that is involved when addressing another human being? Losing the meaning of the word dude and allowing the
English 1/Dr. Ivanova
Intro Unit Essay Rough Draft
The Horrible Word Dude
Has anyone ever called you “dude?” How did it make you feel, and do you even know the meaning behind the word? What if, as time goes on, the use of the word dude becomes widespread; almost an epidemic on the World? Young children forget words like Mr and Mrs, Sir and Ma’am, and just call everyone dude. As time goes on these “children of the dude” grow up and take over the World. War breaks out because one “children of the dude” calls a North Korean radical a dude. Missiles are launched, towns are destroyed, and the entire Earth goes in to a state of panic and decline. North Korea wins the war, because they can communicate to their soldiers better, and the entire World turns giving in to the communist rule. All of this happens because we allow children to use the horrible word dude. Now, of course, the story above is just a story but does anyone even remember the true definition of the word dude? As stated by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “Definition of DUDE - a man extremely fastidious in dress and manner; a city dweller unfamiliar with life on the range.” The usage of the word today falls more towards the Wikipedia definition which states, “An American English slang term generally used informally to address or refer to somebody.” As one can see from the difference in these two definitions there has been a complete change in the meaning of the word since its arrival to the English language in the 1880s. In the beginning the word was used to describe a sharp dressed man living on the East Coast that was unfamiliar with the ways of the “Wild West” and living off the land. In this day and age it is used to address someone you are talking to, “What’s up dude?” Has society fallen so much over the past 131 years that we have forgotten the respect and formality that is involved when addressing another human being? Losing the meaning of the word dude and allowing the