Using “Right?” in Conversational Flow

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hey, Grant, this is Zach from Santa Barbara.

Hi, Zach, welcome to the show.

Hi, thanks for having me.

So I’m calling today about the use of the word right. I feel like I’ve noticed a trend in the use of the word right in a rhetorical sense in the middle of some sort of monologue when someone’s speaking and the speaker wants to come off as if something that they’re saying is fact and everything that they’re describing before then. And then they keep going right after without pausing to let somebody come in and say, oh, wait, maybe there is some room for discussion there. And they keep going as if everyone’s on the same page.

Can you give us like a more specific example?

Yeah. So we all know that chocolate is the best flavor of ice cream, right? Therefore, we’re not going to be carrying it at the grocery store for the rest of the month. So the way you said that was we all agree that chocolate’s the best flavor of ice cream, right? And then you continued and you didn’t give me and Martha a chance to say no, strawberry or no, vanilla.

Exactly. Yes. Thank you. And I feel like I hear it a lot in politics and in discussions and maybe courses and lectures and stuff like that. And I’m wondering if it’s maybe like a new use of that word or a new way that people are using that to describe something. I feel like I hadn’t heard it so much when I was younger. Maybe I’m just noticing it more now.

Well, I don’t know if it’s newer, but it’s what we call in linguistics a tag question. It’s sort of like the expression, you know, which can be used a whole lot of different ways. And linguists love picking apart all the different ways that a tag question like right can be used. Because sometimes, you know, or right can be, you know, in a… I said you know, didn’t I? It can be an attempt to build camaraderie or maybe the speaker’s trying to get the listener to accept the speaker’s statement as a matter of mutual knowledge, like that statement about the chocolate, you know. Or there I go again. You and I can agree that water is wet, right? And sometimes right can function as a floor-yielding device. You might say, for example, today’s staff meeting is at 4 o’clock, right? And then you answer with the correct answer. But I think what you’re talking about, I don’t know, to me, it feels more like a device for holding the floor or a way of asserting that the speaker surely is correct.

And I understand what you’re saying. You take a breath because you want to respond to that question, but you don’t get the chance. Is that what you’re talking about?

You are spot on in describing it better than I could. And you just keep going and you’re like, wait, well, maybe there is room for discussion, but it just keeps on going. And like you said, it’s not like, oh, you were at the grocery store last night, right? It’s very much like you were describing it, somebody in their monologue and a way to keep holding the floor.

You know, it’s interesting, Zach, because I have caught myself doing that from time to time. You know, when I listen back to the show, sometimes I do that. And, of course, I just caught myself saying, you know, again. So I think the point that you and I can agree on is that if there’s an overuse of that, then it is distracting. Right? It takes away from it. It’s distracting. Right, Zach?

Yes.

Yes. If you had to say that your opinion or whatever it is is right, then I’m like, wait, well, I feel like if your opinion is right, then you might not even have to say that. So I feel like it almost cheapens it for me sometimes.

That’s interesting. So there are a lot of different ways to say right. We’re all agreed on that. Right?

Correct.

Right. Correct. But there are a lot of different. So this is a prejudicial sentence tag. This is one where you are kind of forcing your opinion on the other interlocutors, to use a specialty term. You’re forcing them into this mode of thinking that were you a fair interlocutor, whether you’re actually having a fair discussion, you would have given them an opportunity to speak their mind.

Right. Correct. Right. But let’s talk about those other uses of right that don’t follow. So one of the ways we use right or similar words is to help the speaker refocus their thoughts. It isn’t for the other people. It’s for the one who’s talking. They just need that little bit of pause to give them a second to put their next words in order before they come out of their mouths. There’s also things like it helps them keep the listener’s attention. That word right can gather in everyone who’s there and have them focus their eyes and ears a little more carefully on what comes next. And it sometimes helps the speaker keep the rhythm and the timing of what they’re saying so it comes out in just the right way. So maybe there’s a big reveal that’s about to come or a punchline that’s going to happen. And it can really hit that zinger, hit that note exactly right.

Yeah. So there are lots of different ways to use that term right. And I think what you’re zeroing in on, Zach, is just the overuse, just when you hear it after every sentence or every other sentence. And then it kind of undermines what the speaker is saying if you get distracted by that.

By the way, Zach, if you are one of the right sayers or if anybody listening is one of the right sayers, a technique that some people use is to put a rubber band on their wrist. And when you hear yourself saying a word that for you is an unnecessary word that just keeps coming out of your mouth for no good reason, snap it. Just give yourself a little snap on the wrist. And you’ll soon learn not to say that word.

Yeah, or just pause.

There you go. Yeah, I was thinking the amount of times I could have said the word right just while talking to you guys in this moment. I’m like, oh, my gosh, how many times is this coming up?

Well, Zach, we’re really glad you called. Thanks for making us even more self-conscious.

My apologies.

Zach, it was a real pleasure. Thanks for calling.

Thanks, folks. I appreciate it.

Bye-bye.

We’d love to hear how you’ve dealt with the word that you say all the time that you just want to stop saying all the time. How did you get yourself out of the habit? Let us know. 877-929-9673. Email words@waywordradio.org.