Date:  Sat, 22 Nov 1997 12:24:30 -0500
From:  "David A. Johns" <djohns[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PEACHNET.CAMPUS.MCI.NET>
Subject: Re: pragmatic change in progress?

At 10:55 PM 11/21/97 -0500, Ron Butters wrote:

> I had a lot of trouble getting my students to focus on the meaning
> differences between WELL and WHY in these environments. Though they
> understood the differences, they kept saying, "But nobody under age
50 would
> ever use WHY in that way--only old people talk that way!" This was
not the
> answer I expected. Has anybody else had this reaction from students
about WHY
> in this usage? What are the reactions of y'all? Is there a change
in progress
> here?

I'm 54, and I'm sure I've never used "why" this way except when
conciously imitating someone else's style. I perceive it as both
older generation and predominately female. Instead of "why" I'd use
either "of course" or an intonation pattern that indicates "I'm
surprised you asked".

David Johns
Waycross College
Waycross, GA 31501
djohns[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]peachnet.campus.mci.net