I’ll admit it: When I’m getting ready for work later in the day, I’ll put the Maury show on while I get ready. I’ve started noticing some people clap along with themselves while talking, emphasizing key words in sentences. I’ve also seen a commercial for some for-profit technical school where the happily employed “student” does the same thing while she’s talking to the camera.
Is this new? Anyone else notice this? It’s annoying, and makes people who do it look even dumber than they are. Think they even know they’re doing it?
I have never seen this, but would love to, just to annoy myself. Sounds like the most self-congratulatory a person could be. And they must also resemble a performing seal too I suppose.
This is a very common way of talking ‘in the hood’. Mostly only females do it, and it is the most annoying thing ever. They literally clap! with! each! word! to! make! their! point!
Another thing we do is harder to explain in text…I will try to find a video on youtube when I get off of work…but we do this thing with our hands where it looks like we are flinging fairy dust or spices or something. I think some of the girls in the hood do this to showcase their nails after they get them ‘did’.
With the fairy dust throwing, it isn’t done with each word like the clapping. It is done kind of randomly throughout the conversation.
That one doesn’t annoy me. It is kind of funny, but hey, it is a part of what makes my culture colorful. The clapping, though. The clapping kills me.
By the way, I haven’t seen Maury in years. Does he still do the DNA tests? My favorite part of those shows were when the guy is NOT the father. He would start to dance and coon it up and act silly, but that wasn’t the funny part. The funny part was when the girl would just take off running! Hahaa! Why is she running?
I don’t watch it, but I’ll occasionally catch it, because it’s on just before or after a show I do watch, and it seems like that’s ALL he does any more - every single episode I’ve caught part of has been one of those ‘I’m not the father!’ episodes.
My impression on the Maury show in particular (hey, it’s on at the nail salon, okay?) is that they’re clapping to try to get the audience to clap, a signal on Maury that the audience supports or agrees with the speaker. It’s an “Am I right? Of course I’m right!” move.
WhyNot, I know what you mean, but I don’t think that’s what the OP is talking about. The clapping thing is more for emphasis. Like when a girl gets angry at her man and she may start to speak with a clap on each word: