Slow down, little Ralphie Parker; 'girl speak' can't be decoded with a Little Orphan Annie ring.
It's articles like this that make smoke billow from my ears. Maybe I should see a doctor. Or maybe this shit shouldn't be written. The latter'd save me a medical bill or two.
What she says: “So, what have you been up to?”
What she means: “Why haven’t you called me? Are you seeing someone else?”
Mmhmm, when I ask you what's up, I feel threatened and neglected. All the time. Women are just globs of throbbing jealousy that like to wear makeup to look better for you. If you've already realized you can't get us to shut our mouths, you may need a writer like Amy Spencer from Cosmo to give you some tips.
The article may oversimplify or stereotype, but a number of linguists have spent time on this phenomenon, usually called "meta-messages": that is, the implication rather than the direct content of an utterance. The most popular book on the subject is by Debra Tannen:
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I certainly acknowledge that there are gendered differences between what wo/men say and what they mean, but I did not appreciate (as you mentioned) the generalized, stereotypical representation with which the author 'exposed' the meta-messages. To that end, I don't think there is an all-encompassing 'real reply' to what is said/meant. For instance, if a woman says A, she does not ALWAYS mean B. Thanks for reading!!
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