I have a friend at work who starts every response to a question with “No”.
“What did you have for lunch today?”
“No, I had a sandwich.”
“Are you going to the meeting this afternoon?”
“No, yeah I’m heading over at around 2.”
“What’s your favourite colour?”
“No, green.”
There’s another person at work who does this on occasion, though not as frequently as my friend. They both happen to be Italian, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it.
Does anyone else know anyone who does this? Anyone have any idea why?
Maybe it is “know” and is short for something like, “I acknowledge that you have requested information, and I feel that I have the necessary understanding and knowledge to answer it.” Sort of in the way that “my bad” means “I have erred in my duties to respect etiquette or the performance of some task with which I was tasked; please accept my deepest apology.”
Perhaps through life experience your friend has learned that it is best to categorically deny every request, as it helps to prevent others from running off half-cocked, spreading havoc pell mell across the country side.
One time, at the university library, as we were waiting for a ride, a woman approached us and asked, “Were you guys up on the third floor?” “Yes,” we replied. “I am not a dyke!!” she shouts at us and charges into a long, screaming monologue about how she can run the four-thousand meter in such-and-such time and that not all atheletes are dykes. Sobbing and in tears she ran from the lobby, hopefully soon to feel the benefits of her cathartic outburst. Interestingly, while we were on the third floor, we hadn’t seen her, nor had we talked about women, sports, or dykes. “Categorically deny everything,” was what one of my friends concluded.
AH, we do that a lot in Scotland, too. I had no idea it was considered a stereotype for Cananda, or even NZ for that matter, until I came to the SDMB, but I just sort of assumed, "well, why not, EH? After all, both countries have a fairly significant Scottish expatriate population.
As for the OP, I have never heard that particular speech oddity. I should think it is the kind of thing that might sometimes be irritiating, for instance, on a Monday morning.
Funny, it happened to me a few times. When it happened, I was thinking of something else - no, no voices like Ethilrist suggested - and the sudden, quick-fire question got me by surprise. I suppose it was a way for the brain to switch from one subject to the other, but I really have no idea.
I also happen to be Italian, and I have another friend that does this, but I can tell you it’s not really common. Maybe it only happens to the ones with overactive brains…
