Language Variation: Focus on Uses

Example 3 Mrs N : Oooh, he’s walking already. Mother : Oh, yes, he’s such a clever little fellow aren’t you? Mrs N : Hullo coogieboo. Eeeee . . . loo, diddle diddle dur. Ohh eechy, weechy poo poo. Ohh eechy, peachy poo poo. There look at him laughing. Oh he’s a chirpy little fellow. Yeees. Whoooo’s a chirpy little fellow eh? Yes. Ooooh, can he talk? Can he talk eh eh? (Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Episode 28) Uttered with high pitch and a sing-song intonation, there is little doubt about the appropriate addressee of utterances such as those in example 3 . This example comes, however, from a Monty Python sketch where these utterances are addressed to the speaker’s adult son, who responds with ‘Yes, of course I can talk, I’m Minister for Overseas Development’. The humour depends on the audience’s perception of the inappropriateness of addressing a statusful adult in this way.