[Dixielandjazz] Re: Disfluencies

Stephen Barbone barbonestreet at earthlink.net
Mon Jan 5 15:39:25 PST 2004


> "Fra Don Ingle" <dingle at baldwin-net.com> wrote
>
> There you go, Bill --dis-sing us. Disfluencies -- the halting, stopping, or
> opposition of fluencies - creating an inability to talk in a fluent and
> understandable manner. Sort of  like encountering a curvaceous naked lady
> when you least expected to and try to carry on a normal conversation at the
> moment. (An experience I have yet to have, but am open to learning new
> things.)
> Seems to be a made up word -- not unusual in the every changing English
> language, but then many still think "ain't" ain't in the dictionary -- but
> 'tis so.
> However, have a  caution. Splicing words together doesn't always work.
> Consider the common error of saying irregardless. Regardless of good intent,
> it's wrong, wrong, wrong.

Love that word. Not only that, but it would seem musos could therefore play
disfluently creating an inability to communicate the music in an understandable
manner. Hmm, I know a few like that so I'm with Bill. Let's use it and therefore add
it to the dictionaries via common usage. Heck if we can say function and then
dysfunctional, why can't we say fluent and then disfluent?

Hey, maybe it should be dysfluent? Or should we settle for dysrhythmia which does
indeed exist in my Webster's?

Cheers,
Steve (who sometimes plays dysfluently depending on the audience, but never with
dysrhythmia) Barbone




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