Sugary excerpt from John McWhorter 's extensive post on Sarah Palin's manner of speaking:
The modern American typically relates warmly to the use of English to the extent that it summons the oral — “You betcha,” “Yes we can!” -- while passing from indifference to discomfort to the extent that its use leans towards the stringent artifice of written language. As such, Sarah Palin can talk, basically, like a child and be lionized by a robust number of perfectly intelligent people as an avatar of American culture. And linguistically, let’s face it: she is.
I have a problem with McWhorter's using the world "child" within this context. It brings to my mind the image of Forest Gump, lovable, shrewd, surviving the cruelties of life while speaking like a child and not being very smart. The trouble of course is that the supposed female version of him is threatening especially if she is attractive.
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