dude

Dude, as recently as four years ago I met a young person from Philadelphia who was utterly baffled with my Californian usage of the word "dude". Who around the U.S. or Canada does or does not use this word, and why?

During my years as translator, I have never heard the word "dude" in any conversation, formal or not. Doing some further reading since your thread really got me interested I confirmed what I previously thought...

dude is an address term that is used mostly by young men to address other young men; however, its use has expanded so that it is now used as a general address term for a group (same or mixed gender), and by and to women.
Dude is developing into a discourse marker that need not identify an addressee, but more generally encodes the speaker’s stance to his or her current addressee(s). The term is used mainly in situations in which a speaker takes a stance of solidarity or camaraderie, but crucially in a nonchalant, not-too-enthusiastic manner.
Dude indexes a stance of effortlessness (or laziness, depending on the perspective of the hearer), largely because of its origins in the “surfer” and “druggie” subcultures in which such stances are valued. The reason young men use this term is precisely that dude indexes this stance of cool solidarity.
Such a stance is especially valuable for young men as they navigate cultural Discourses of young masculinity, which simultaneously demand masculine solidarity, strict heterosexuality, and non-conformity. ;)

elmeromero,
Over on the east coast we use "dude" but not very often and usually in a sarcastic way to make fun of surfers. the word "dude" usually brings to mind "fast times at ridgemont high".
:cool:

I use dude casually and it is used constantly in american movies and shows. I am born and raised (except for two years) in the Northeast US. I grew up in the 80's but maybe your young person is very young or is only exposed to one type of crowd. One example I could give you is Randy on American Idol. He uses dude very often and he is not a surfer.

Wow, SandraT, I had no idea the academic community had devoted so much energy to the word "dude". And thanks to you east coasters for your input. Now that you mention it, I have heard of Randy on American Idol saying "dude". Though I'm not saying I would ever watch that crap.

I don't know why you have to insult other people's taste elmeromero - that's very adolescent of you.

"I don't know why you have to insult other people's taste elmeromero - that's very adolescent of you."

I must be misunderstanding something here. Or did you really use the word "taste" in reference to American Idol? Isn't that the show where women are continually voted to remain in the competition on the basis of the fellatio they perform and not their singing skills (Antonella Barba)? Aren't the winners more often than not generally agreed to not be the best singers in the competition? Get a clue and lighten up.

Apoyo la opinión de elmeromero... (sin intención de provocar a nadie)

I guess that word is a typical American expression for I never heard it say in London...Am I right?:confused:

Wow, elmeromero, you know so much about the show...

Dude was originally a term employed by rural folks to refer to city slickers. A "dude ranch" is a working ranch that caters to city residents and trots them around on horses for high prices. At some point, surfers started calling each other dude, and some time afterward, all of California. More or less.

Yes, Sabrina.

These days "dude" is very much used by young American men in informal contexts. And everyday more and more people use it.

:)

i'd say dude is nowadays almost standard for american informal conversation, if i could say such a thing... :D!!! it could surely be looked upon depending on the context you're using it, though, dude heheheheh!

Apparently, an early meaning of "dude" was someone overly dressed for the occasion, overly conscious of clothing and fashion. In time the meaning changed. Sometimes you will hear it in cowboy/western movies to refer to someone from the East. Westerners use it even today to mean someone from the city who is not dressed for the country and lacks country skills. For example, they may use boots, hats, belts, etc. that nobody from the country would use for everyday wear. When I was a kid, I lived on a ranch in Arizona. I assure you that it was an insult to call someone "dude". However, it was acceptable to say "to be duded up" to mean to be dressed in one's best clothing, fancy clothing, etc.

The West still has "dude ranchs", places where people from the city can get a taste of country living. Some of the estancias in Argentina and pousadas in Brazil are set up along the lines of dude ranchs with horseback riding, barbecues, etc.

Among Hispanics in the USA, in place of "dude", the word "homes" is often heard. "Homes" or "homey" can be used in reference to males or females. You'll also hear "homeboy" and "homegirl". A homeboy is someone from your barrio, but it's often a friendly greeting to anyone young. (Ex: Who was the homeboy I saw you with last night? How are things, homes?)

Among blacks in the US, "brother" and "sister" are common. I assume that the terms come from the practice of Protestants calling one another "brother" or "sister". (Ex: A brother came to see you this morning while you were out of the office. Brother Smith, how are you today?) As you can see, the term is not used quite like "hermano" in Spanish.

For ten years I lived in a small community in the mountains north of San Bernardino, California. "Downtown" had a bar, a post office, a fire department (the firemen only came in case of fire), and a water company. That was all. The population of squirrels was much greater than that of humans. For food, gasoline, etc. I had to go to one of the larger towns nearby. Visitors from the city were called "flatlanders". "Mountain people", as we referred to ourselves, were convinced that living in the mountains made us better drivers, smarter, wiser, etc. than the flatlanders who would come up the mountain for a weekend. No, I didn't call anyone a "flatlander"!

I lived for two years in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Every "gaucho" that all true Brazilians live in the South. A man from Ceara told me he had spent 13 years living in that area before feeling accepted. On the other hand, a man from Maranhao encouraged me to go the the Northeast, saying that there the true Brazil could be found, and that only foreigners lived elsewhere. I am superior to you. Where I live is better than where you live. Does that sound familiar?

Be well.

Interesting thread and great contributions by a lot of people. I will say that I find it more common now for Americans, including myself, to replace "guy" with "dude" in the sense of "I met this dude the other day..." I never address anyone as "Dude", but I enjoy the usage I mentioned earlier.

I do find it interesting that no one has yet mentioned "The Big Lebowski"..."but, that's like, your opinion, man"

I think it's strange that people are hearing "dude" "more and more everday"... I feel like I hear "guy" or "hey man" more than anything. WHAT

"or El Duderino, if youre not into the whole brevity thing."

"This is our concern, Dude."

"Dude here."

I use it all the time, although I must say I'm thinking of working in "El Duderino" after reading justinb's post... :)

Who has not ever heard the word "dude" in conversation in the US!? Young people use this word all the time, myself included. I think it's a pretty common word, used the same as "huey" in Mexico or "mae" in Costa Rica. Don't know how you could have gotten through a ton of American conversation without ever hearing "dude!"

Hi dudes, you have to see Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, it's like a fast course on the use of "dude" and other teenage slang.
Probably now it's outdated, but will do, and how weird is Neo dressed as Ted now? heheheheh

Hi Verónica,
Do you know by what name it was shown in Argentina? It would be fun to hire the film from the Blockbuster!:)

I live in Philly.... I hear people say DUDE all the time. Almost too much when I come to think of it. Anyone who has not heard the word dude is living on a different planet.