Actually, when Nixon made that statement I wasn't much paying attention to language styles. First time it really caught my attention was during Bob Dole's run for the presidency back in 1996. Then I pretty much forgot about it. Until last night. My wife was watching a cooking show where teenagers compete, and one of them, a young boy about 12 years old, used it to describe his presentation: "John Jones has prepared for you tonight etc."
Was especially surprising to hear that device used by someone so young. Sent me to an online search, where I learned that referring to oneself in the third person is called "illeism" (learned a new word). I don't think I've ever used that in spoken English. Always seemed a bit pretentious to me. But according to that Wiki link it's been around for some time and does have some valid uses. I have, for example, in some writing used the parenthetical expression (in this author's opinion), and I guess that would be a form of illeism, but I rarely do that.
Wiki claims it's often used to denote idiocy or lack of language skills (Mongo like Candy, Tarzan hear stampede, etc.), or for automatons in science fiction (but Data from STTNG never used that).
Wiki goes on to note:
In certain Eastern religions, like Hinduism or Buddhism, this is sometimes seen as a sign of enlightenment, since by doing so, an individual detaches his eternal self (atman) from the body-related one (maya). Known illeists of that sort include Swami Ramdas,[4] Ma Yoga Laxmi,[5] Anandamayi Ma,[6] and Mata Amritanandamayi.[7] Jnana yoga actually encourages its practitioners to refer to themselves in the third person.
which I thought was interesting. So I don't really have a question, but just wanted to share a new word (at least to Heimhenge). Comments welcome though.
It's not often you find something that Bob Dole, Flavor Flav, and Sesame Street's Elmo all have in common.
Ron Draney said
It's not often you find something that Bob Dole, Flavor Flav, and Sesame Street's Elmo all have in common.
I'm sure there would be an incredibly rude, incredibly funny retort to that, but it being Armistice Day, I'll be kind to Bob Dole, out of sympathy for someone who got a speeding ticket going to his mother's funeral, I'll be kind to Flav, and out of respect and admiration for Elmo, I don't want to put him in a group that includes the other two.
I am learning that the brain may be little more than a wiring switch, with much of our personality being a consequence of our microbiome. which leads me to wonder, are illeism's causes rooted in the illeum?
I learned a new word today as well: manqué It's in Dick Francis's 1965 novel "Odds Against". It's sorta like wannabe in that it's generally paired with an occupational prefix. The difference is that a wannabe Elvis knows he's not Elvis, but strives mightily to be Elvis, while an Elvis manqué tries to be Elvis and constantly fails, but is unaware that he never will come close. It's 40-some years since I first read that book, but I just slid over the word before.
That's a great thing about Kindle. Highlight a word, and the definition is instantly available. It makes reading slower but so much richer. After Mrs Francis died, and he announced he would write no longer, there were newspaper stories suggesting she was the true author, the intimation being that a mere jockey couldn't be such a brilliant writer, but then Francis produced another couple of stories, and I thought "Good for him so shut up his critics that way!" It's a lot more fun when you have a "partner in crime" but writing isn't exactly something one chooses to do. It's foist upon one, perhaps by the muses of the microbiome.
Never had I heard illeism by a woman. Come to think, not even little girls. Now if that reflects a generally true fact, it is something: the implied notions of egotism, sarcasm, objectivism, etc must be then telling of the differences between the sexes.
Robert said: Never had I heard illeism by a woman.
Interesting observation. Now that you mention it, neither have I. It does seem to be an exclusively male thing, at least in western society. Ego seems to be one of those things "good girls" are taught to suppress, and males are encouraged to express. But that may be changing.
I thought I recalled Sara Palin using illeism during her campaign, but a search of Palin quotes didn't turn up anything. Now if Carly Fiorina stays in the race, and having watched her flaunt her ego in the debates, I would not be surprised to hear her use it. You have to have a fair amount of ego to play the political game.