Pass me dee thing deh
What thing?
Dee thing nah, over deh on dee shelf
You mean the funnel?
Yeah dah thing, dee funnel
You know wah ah mean.
Hmmm, mmm, right, sure I do
Pass me dah thing right deh
What thing?
Dat watumah call it
The what you may who?
Dee big round thing right deh sitting on dee table
Oh! You mean the plastic bottle?
Yeah, ain’t dat wah ah say?
Ahhhh……sure
You know wah ah mean
Hmmmm…………………
Pass me dah thing deh on your left
What thing would that be?
Dee lil blue thing sitting in the thingamagiggie over deh
You mean the blue bottle cap sitting in the dish drainer to cover the bottle rum punch you just made?
Yeah ain’t dat wah ah say? How come yuh repeating everything ah say so..
Just clarifying
Hmmm….things would go a lot faster if yuh just gimmeh wah ah ask for instead of parroting meh
Ok…
Now pass meh dah thing over deh so ah could taste dis thing
You mean you would like a glass so you can pour some rum punch in to taste?
Isn’t dat wat ah just say, yuh sure yuh feeling alright, cause yuh got ah whole lot ah questions
I am feeling fine grandma, just making sure
Making sure ah wat baby?
That we understand each other
Hmmmm….well dah goes without saying sugar
Now come here and gimme some love,
Yuh understand dat right?
Yeah grandma, ah gotcha
D.S.B. Rhapsody © All Rights Reserved
Dear Reader:
The “thing” can mean anything; its a communication fuller for when the name of what you want suddenly escapes you and you opt to saying "the thing," while gesturing and pointing to the item in question. It can represent a particular job/task you are doing, something you are asking for and even something you trying to remember/remind someone of. I can have a whole conversation with my daughter asking her to hand me the thing, for the thing, to put in the thing and she will understand exactly what I am talking about.
The “thing” is the substitute. I think every culture has a substitute for the suddenly unnamed/forgotten item/something. We do this in Trinidad & Tobago all the time and it is wonderfully miraculous how we understand each other and can almost anticipate what the unnamed item [“thing”] is quickly furnishing it. To the unschooled unfamiliar with this nuance of communication it is puzzling, confusing and fascinating.
Communication is an art, a beautiful thing and can be down right hilarious at times. Do you have a universal name for the unnamed in your culture?
Very nice. I know what you mean. Communication is an art. Peace.
ReplyDeleteIt is isn't it, even when you can't understand the nuances you understand. Complex isn't it.
Deleteyou always knew what she meant, right? so what is the problem LOL
ReplyDeleteWell.....most of the time. lol
DeleteVery good. Communication is indeed an art that takes many forms. No amount of "King’s English", proper pronunciation, grammatically correct sentences beat the often understated and underestimated sentiment of just being plain old understood.
ReplyDeleteRight on!
DeleteThat was incredible! Thanks for sharing your amazing talent in poetry and words.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on the piece.
DeleteHow beautifully put to words!
ReplyDeleteIt happens to me all the time, having my Belgian accent!
Christie
Isn't it facinating how different yet how similiar we all are?
DeleteGood afternoon Fab,
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure to have you come by Blog Quest.
I had a big smile on my face while reading this entry.
We all have dee thing.
Actually, a lot of dee stuff.
Have a super week,
Greg
Sure your right Mister G
Deleterapsolutely fabulous.
ReplyDeletethanks
DeleteLoveya.you’re much creative and you have a sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteHave a peacefull week.
HUGS~FÁTIMA
Much love right back atcha. Laughter is good medicine
DeleteFabz,
ReplyDeleteclever, clever, clever,
Your wit is sharp as ever.
Your friend WAY down south in Texas,
richard
hmmmmm, Richard we need to keep it sharp to keep the creative juices flowing
DeleteOkay trini! Very entertaining indeed.
ReplyDeleteYou know how we do it.
DeleteI love it! I think I’ll call my Nana:) Peace, Love & Together
ReplyDeleteYou do that, keep the love flowing
DeleteSmiling here, some things are universal.
ReplyDeleteHugs from snowy Alaska
Isn't that the truth though?
DeleteHere in United States, "thing" and "stuff" are used interchangeably!
ReplyDeleteFor instance: "Do you remember the 'thing' we bought at the store to put in my hair? Yeah, can you bring me that 'stuff', I want to use it."
foreversweetlybroken.blogspot.com
Right....see we all have it
DeleteYou have contrived beautifully out of thin air as it were a nice post on the innocuous looking words 'the thing'.As someone put, it is universal.In the art of communication the exact words alone do not play a big role.They need have no meaning; a gesticulation, a movement of hands,eyebrows, a shrug of shoulders or a twist of facial muscles speak loudly and clearly.Thank you Rhapsody for this post.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, communication is very broad and without boundaries.
Deletelol..........
ReplyDeletebrilliant
Thank you for such a robust summary on your thoughts
DeleteLoool. I was thinking this was a conversation between your daughter and her grandma
ReplyDeletelol, pretty much
DeleteMy husband is Italian and English is his second language so he often refers to "the thing" or "that thing" when he can't think of the word. :)
ReplyDeleteSee how similiar we are regardless of culture, creed and class.
DeleteYou are very talented with words Fab! Good job!
ReplyDeletethank you very much.
DeleteIn Italian there is a phrase that is substituted when the name of an object eludes one. I may have the spelling wrong but the phrase is "como si chiama" which translates into, "whaddya call it".
ReplyDeletehehehehe, woo its so fabulous to see that people the world over who know nothing about each other doing the same thing for the very same reason. Ain't life a kick?
DeleteThing is universal. :)
ReplyDeleteI found that it absolutely is.
DeleteThis sounds just like many conversations my Mother and I had whenever working together to hang a picture or just about anything we worked on together. The funny thing was we knew what the other wanted or needed. A friend came in as we were finishing a task and heard us. Once my friend and I walked out the door. She asked me how did you know what she was talking about,not once did she name what she wanted? Telling her it was because we were hanging a picture. All she did was shake her head at me. Thank you for bringing to mind a wonderful memory of my Mother back to me.
ReplyDeleteI am glad I was able to bring forth a memory that warms you.
DeleteTake care and thanks for coming hope to see you again.