Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Currently - a form of Right Now

I've detected a phrase in human communication that denotes temporariness with a nebulous expectation of change. It is the phrase "Right now..." followed by the answer to a question.

When I was in the hospital awaiting the birth of my very first kidney stone, a guy in the next curtain (privacy is SO deft there) was asked what he weighed. He gave the signaling pause and then said, "Right now I weigh 230 but..." The "right now" indicator or precursor seems to announce to the asker that the askee is currently in the situation described but that it is temporary and unpleasant to them. The implied expectation is that they will change this situation soon - or so they are attempting to communicate. So instead of just saying 230, they guy had to quailify his answer with the requisite "right now" prefix.

Listen for this. We all do it subconsciously. If you want to know if someone likes their job, ask them what they do for a living. If they say, "...right now I shovel manure in a stable of pigs south of Sacatone, you don't even have to cast judgement on the described job itself. Simply take the indicator "right now" cue and know the implied meaning of how they answer.

Who are you dating? "Right now I'm dating Jennifer..."

Where do you work? "Right now I work at Basha's..."

What sex are you? "Right now I'm male."

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