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Whole “nother” episode of CSI *spoilers*
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Posted by: okleydokley

Now I am not a grammar expert, but Grissom is supposed to be smarter then everyone and more well spoken then we can imagine.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)

Last night he was explaining that the girl that hung herself was actually already strangled. He said something like, “Catherine, we’ve got a whole nother set of strangle marks here”.

"Nother" is one of those words like pitcher vs. picture that I just don’t understand why people use incorrectly or in this case use it at all.
I guess I am being too picky, and for any other character I would not even mention it, but Grissom???

Posted by: Kablemodem

I've said that a lot, but when I finally tried to write it once I realized how stupid it sounded. I don't do it no more.

Posted by: DLiquid

Yeah, I noticed that he said that. It sounded very out of character.

Posted by: David Platt

quote:
Originally posted by okleydokley
"Nother" is one of those words like pitcher vs. picture that I just don’t understand why people use incorrectly or in this case use it at all.
I guess I am being too picky, and for any other character I would not even mention it, but Grissom???

I suspect in the case of 'nother' that the addition of the 'n' sound is related to a linguistic phenomenon called 'assimilation'.

The 'l' sound at the end of 'whole' and the 'o' sound at the beginning of 'other' are pronounced at different points in the mouth-- the point of articulation of the 'l' is near the front of your mouth, while the point of articulation of the 'o' sound in 'other' is nearer the middle of your mouth (from front to back). The insertion of the 'n' sound, whose point of articulation is about halfway between the other two, could be a way to "ease the transition", so to speak, between them.

This case is a little unique in that assimilation usually involves the changing of one sound to another to make pronunciation easier; the actual insertion of a new sound is rarer (I believe it's called 'phonogenesis', but I'd have to look that one up to make sure). A lot of times, alternate pronunciations like these become so common that they pass into everyday usage and the old pronunciations eventually disappear-- there are words you probably use every day that have changed in this way at sometime in the past.

Since it's not a regular pronunciation yet, I agree that it was out of character for Grissom to do it. He tends to be pretty conservative and middle of the line with his language usage.

Posted by: whitson77

I majored in English in college. If I were writing an essay, I would use proper grammar and punctuation. But we aren't writing papers when we speak, and most of the population uses slang or regional dialects. That is their right. You have the right not to like it, but stating it to someone else makes you look snobby. Just like I did by writing this. Ah, paradoxes.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

I hear (and say) that all the time. It's just a way to add emphasis to "another". I think the reason it's so popular is because there's really no grammatically correct way to get the same effect without sounding like a complete doofus.

Posted by: Kablemodem

whole nother = completely different :)

Posted by: BBQ Chicken

A big who cares from me. :)

Posted by: doom1701

Well, I could care less ;)

Posted by: okleydokley

quote:
Originally posted by Medieval Guy
I hear (and say) that all the time. It's just a way to add emphasis to "another". I think the reason it's so popular is because there's really no grammatically correct way to get the same effect without sounding like a complete doofus.

Wouldn't "whole other" be exactly the same and grammatically correct?

It really is no big deal, and I never bring it up other then now, but I am just wondering if the script writer actually wrote "nother" in the script or if it was just misspoken and missed in editing. It is something I would not expect Grissom to say..

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

Not exactly the same, because "whole 'nother" extends "another" and "whole other" doesn't. I've always thought of "whole 'nother" as the comparative of "another." (I wonder what the superlative would be? :D)

And William Peterson is an extremely intelligent, eccentric man, so if HE would say it, I'd believe Grissom would as well!

Posted by: David Platt

quote:
Originally posted by Medieval Guy
I've always thought of "whole 'nother" as the comparative of "another." (I wonder what the superlative would be? :D)

"Most 'nother"? :)

Posted by: Philosofy

Hey, I just found out I'm 2 or 3 degrees separated from the cast of CSI. A guy who my wife grew up with works on the show, and his wife is the dominatrix charecter that shows up once and awhile. He says Petersen is a great guy, and Marg is a total bitch.