When did "say" become "go"?

Question

So Mary goes "What are you doing here?"Then I go "Waiting for John"And Marcia went "None of you business, whatever"In Australia, we had a comedy character "Kylie Mole" (no relation to to Kylie Minogue) who became infamous for her "she goes, she goes" routine.So where did all this "go"ing start?gtoomey

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[nq:1]So Mary goes "What are you doing here?" Then I go "Waiting for John" And Marcia went "None of you ... to toKylie Minogue) who became infamous for her "she goes, she goes" routine. So where did all this "go"ing start?[/nq]
Oh that's nothing. Have you heard "be (all) like"? It's common among young girls. It's used mostly to introduce emphatic quotes I think. For example:

She was like, "what do you think you're doing?" And I was all like, "none of your business!"

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[nq:1]So Mary goes "What are you doing here?" Then I go "Waiting for John" And Marcia went "None of you ... toKylie Minogue) who became infamous for her "she goes, she goes" routine. So where did all this "go"ing start? gtoomey[/nq]
You might find the following to be of interest:
From the AHD4 at
http://www.bartleby.com/61/76/G0167600.html
(quote)
go 1

TRANSITIVE VERB: 9. To say or utter. Used chiefly in verbal narration: First I go, "Thank you," then he goes, "What for?"

OUR LIVING LANGUAGE: Go has long been used to describe the production of nonlinguistic noises, notably in conversation with children, as in The train went "toot." The cow goes "moo." In recent years, however, many speakers have begun to use go in informal conversation to report speech, as in Then he goes, "You think you're real smart, don't you?" This usage parallels the quotation introducers be all and be like. But unlike these other expressions, which can indicate thoughts or attitudes, the quotational use of go is largely restricted to dialogue related in the narrative present, especially when the narrator wishes to mimic the accent or intonation of the original speaker. See Notes at all, like2.

(end quote)

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
mplsray @ yahoo . com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Oh that's nothing. Have you heard "be (all) like"? It's common among young girls. It's used mostly to introduce emphatic quotes I think. For example: She was like, "what do you think you're doing?"[/nq]
I have heard and this makes sense that it is used for paraphrases in a case where one doesn't remember the words used and doesn't wish to misquote. Instead of lying, saying "he said, 'The end of the world is upon us'", the speaker can tell the truth, saying, "he was like, 'The end of the world is upon us'".
Michael Hamm Since mid-September of 2003, AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis I've been erasing too much UBE. (Email Removed) Of a reply, then, if you have been cheated, http://math.wustl.edu/~msh210/ Likely your mail's by mistake been deleted.

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[nq:1]TRANSITIVE VERB: 9. To say or utter. Used chiefly in verbal narration: First I go, "Thank you," then ... especially when the narrator wishes to mimic the accent or intonation of the original speaker. See Notes at all, like2.[/nq]
The notes at "all" and "like" are interesting too. They even mention my state, California. No wonder I hear this usage all the time!

http://www.bartleby.com/61/52/A0205200.htmlOUR LIVING LANGUAGE:Among the newest ways of introducing direct speech in the United States is the construction consisting of a form of be with all, as in I'm all, "I'm not gonna do that!" And she's all, "Yes you are!" This construction is particularly common in the animated speech of young people in California and elsewhere on the West Coast, who use it more frequently than the informal East Coast alternatives, be like and go, as in He's like (or goes), "I'm not gonna do that!" These indicators of direct speech tend to be used more often with pronoun subjects (He's all, "I'm not..") than with nouns (The man's all, "I'm not.."), and with the historical present (He's all..) than with the past (He was all..).

All of these locutions can introduce a gesture or facial expression rather than a quotation, as in He's all.. followed by a shrug of the shoulders. Be all and be like can also preface a statement that sums up an attitude, as in "I'm all 'No way!'" See Notes at go1, like2.

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} On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 05:57:44 GMT, andrew (Email Removed) wrote, in } part:
}> Oh that's nothing. Have you heard "be (all) like"? It's common among }> young girls. It's used mostly to introduce emphatic quotes I think. For }> example:
}>
}> She was like, "what do you think you're doing?" }
} I have heard and this makes sense that it is used for paraphrases in } a case where one doesn't remember the words used and doesn't wish to } misquote. Instead of lying, saying "he said, 'The end of the world is } upon us'", the speaker can tell the truth, saying, "he was like, 'The end } of the world is upon us'".
It's also used for a facial expression or other gesture that can be taken to mean what is apparently quoted:
The smokey old car barely got ahead of Rey on the hill when it pulled in front of him. Rey was like, "What do you think you are doing?" The other driver was like, "I don't care for your tone."

R. J. Valentine

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In our last episode,
, the lovely and talented Gregory Toomey
broadcast on alt.usage.english:
[nq:1]So Mary goes "What are you doing here?" Then I go "Waiting for John" And Marcia went "None of you ... to Kylie Minogue) who became infamous for her "she goes, she goes" routine. So where did all this "go"ing start?[/nq]
I'm a 55-year-old American, I have heard this use of "go" all of my life. At first it was often accompanied with a dramatic interpretation of the quoted words or might not involve words at all but would introduce an enactment of a physical gesture, shrug, wink, or something of the sort. As that required effort, however slight, "go" was seldom used in narrating an extented dialog, but was mostly reserved for those speeches which require some illustration in order to convey their original sense. I first noticed "go" being used entirely in place of "say" in the speech of some young people about twenty years ago.

Lars Eighner ~~finger for geek code~~ (Email Removed) http://www.io.com/~eighner/ There is not enough magic in a bloodline to forge an instant, irrevocable bond. James Earl Jones

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[nq:1]So Mary goes "What are you doing here?" Then I go "Waiting for John" And Marcia went "None of you ... to Kylie Minogue) who became infamous for her "she goes, she goes" routine. So where did all this "go"ing start?[/nq]
I can give you a when, roughly. The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (RHHDAS) has as its first citation for this meaning:
1942 in Journal of Genetic Psychology LXVI (1945) p132: Go... to say. "He goes, 'Well, what did you
do?' and I go, 'I didn't do nothing."
Their next citation is in 1966, then heavily in the 1970s and 80s. They call the whole thing "originally juvenile" and they name three papers in which it is discussed, which I can copy out if anyone is seriously interested.

Best Donna Richoux

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[nq:1]In Australia, we had a comedy character "Kylie Mole" (no relation to to Kylie Minogue) who became infamous for her "she goes, she goes" routine. So where did all this "go"ing start?[/nq]
Some time in the 1950s or earlier. It took a few decades for most people to notice.

Regards
John

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[nq:2]So Mary goes "What are you doing here?" Then I ... she goes" routine. So where did all this "go"ing start?[/nq]
[nq:1]I can give you a when, roughly. The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (RHHDAS) has as its first ... and they name three papers in which it is discussed, which I can copy out if anyone is seriously interested.[/nq]
I remember the phenomenon being discussed in school by teachers in the early '80s, which is also when I first remember the use of "be like" for "sententially reporting a state of mind". My sense is that the use of "go" for "say" has practically disappeared, and that "be like", meanwhile, has expanded beyond 'state of mind' and is now used very generally for "reported speech with no claim of accuracy" without losing its earlier "state of mind" usage. IOW, "be like" has replaced "go" in AmE, ADDIYAM.

Perhaps "go" is still available for reported speech with a higher claim of accuracy than "be like" offers, but I feel that I hear "says" more than "goes" nowadays.

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Wouldn't that usually be in the historic present tense? That's how I usually hear it:
She's like, "what do you think you're doing?" And I'm all like, "none of your business!"

Ray Heindl
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When did "say" become "go"?

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