Is This New or Did I Just Never Notice It Before?

[JumpyTheFrog]

I keep hearing people on podcasts, TV shows, and in real life use both a subject and a pronounce in their sentence. (Note that this is not in response to questions, so they speaker must intend for it to be in one sentence.)

Examples:

• My wife, she likes to cook.
• His parents, they like to garden.
• Your boss, he came in late.

This is driving me crazy! I've probably heard it three times in ten minutes in one podcast episode. Is this a new way of misspeaking, or is it something I just never noticed before?

[JumpyTheFrog]

I think the show I watched recently that use it frequently was "The Vampire Diaries," which is set in Virginia. None of the people using it on podcasts or in real life are from anywhere near there.

It's like nails on a chalkboard to me.

[Gobblygook]

I remember kids doing this a lot in elementary school and our teacher correcting us. 

[PeterPan]

I heard this in a Hallmark/whatever type of movie today and couldn't believe it. I mean, I know language changes with time, but still.

[saraha]

It made me think of my childhood neighbors. They were fresh off the boat Italian and they talked like this constantly. I haven't noticed it anywhere else though. I probably will now, haha

[Katy]

I’ve only heard that when people are speaking too fast to think first. 

[JumpyTheFrog]

My DH has been doing it a lot lately. So has one of my kids. That's what made me wonder if maybe I just developed a new pet peeve or if it had become a "thing."

[Ausmumof3]

It reminds me of Borat.  Also it’s kind of like Italian  grammar though not quite (though my understandings of the grammar are kind of fuzzy).  I feel like maybe it’s come in with non English speakers but we’ve started using it because it adds emphasis.  While not grammatically correct, I think “my son - he likes fishing!” sounds more emphatic than “my son likes fishing” for some reason.  I have heard it used but almost always in that kind of way.  

[Ausmumof3]

25 minutes ago, saraha said:

It made me think of my childhood neighbors. They were fresh off the boat Italian and they talked like this constantly. I haven't noticed it anywhere else though. I probably will now, haha

Yep.  Our Italian neighbours talked like this as well.

 

[TrulySusan]

Our local news anchors started doing it maybe a year or so ago. First it was one person, but now they almost all do it. It makes it almost unbearable to listen to them.

[klmama]

It's very casual, but it doesn't bother me at all.  There are other verbal idiosyncrasies that drive me crazy, but this isn't one of them.

[Carol in Cal.]

I know it’s not quite proper, but it’s a familiar and not all that out of the ordinary to me.

I’m old enough to remember “My wife, I think I’ll keep her,” which is along the same lines.

[Tanaqui]

It's not a new thing, and it's not "misspeaking" - it's just a dialectical variation you don't have. You all have nonstandard usages that other people find "grating". Everyone does!

(And I bet you all heard it a lot before you noticed it. You're suffering from recency illusion.)

[SKL]

I have heard it a lot in specific cultures.

In my culture, it has been used more like a shortened version of:  "Now to change the focus to __: s/he ___."  Or "This contrasts with __:  s/he ___."

For example:

"I got written up for being late to work one time.  My boss, she's late every other day and that's apparently fine."

"I dislike restaurants and cook at home almost every meal.  My sister, she goes to restaurants several times per week."

[popmom]

12 hours ago, SKL said:

I have heard it a lot in specific cultures.

In my culture, it has been used more like a shortened version of:  "Now to change the focus to __: s/he ___."  Or "This contrasts with __:  s/he ___."

For example:

"I got written up for being late to work one time.  My boss, she's late every other day and that's apparently fine."

"I dislike restaurants and cook at home almost every meal.  My sister, she goes to restaurants several times per week."

This ^^^, It doesn't bother me at all.