11 Comments

The more I listen the more I feel heard! I have felt pangs of disquiet about the vocabulary I use, and I ain't tryna to feel that no more! I talk well enough. Thank you.

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please please do continue to play broadway shows!

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Jan 25, 2023·edited Jan 25, 2023

Thinking of "tryna", I believe that I have heard people use it in TV shows or movies, such as "I'm not tryna make you cry", in the 1970s. So, it seems that there was an evolution going on, if my memory is close, in which "trying" is synonymous with "want" due to context. But this isn't in all contexts, such as "I'm trying to start my car" versus "I want to start my car" because "trying" implies action, turning the key, while "want" implies wishing.

I suppose you linguists peruse scripts, books, etc. for examples of such evolutions in meanings.

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It seems like a matter of litotes to me, and your bringing in “action” as the difference between trying and wanting fits well there. “I’m not tryna” as an example of litotes would flesh out as “I so much don’t want this that I not only am not trying to have it happen, but will do or say whatever I can to avoid it,” so expressing the contrary desire even to the point of opposite action. “I don’t want to—to the extreme!”

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Because of your post I learned what 'litotes' is. I had never heard nor seen it before, but use litotes all the time!

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John, I enjoy your show and your conversations with Glenn. You did this once before and I decided to just let it go, but when you did it again I now feel I should say something. The indigenous people of NZ call themselves the Maori, as do most of the non-indigenous people of NZ. However they pronounce the name Mo-dee (rhymes with Cody) not Mao-ree (rhymes with Loury).

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I first heard "tryna" back in 2010, in a mostly white suburban high school. "I'm tryna get high", "You tryna?", "I'm tryna", and so on. We used it when talking about weed.

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Jan 23, 2023·edited Jan 23, 2023

Ha! John, you mention Spanish "Me gustan manzanas" = "I like apples" ("apples please me"), but in Portuguese it's evolved into "Gosto das maçãs", basically "I-am-pleased of apples".

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I've heard "I ain't tryin to hear that" for decades. A recorded example is on Public Enemy's 1990 album Fear of a Black Planet, on the song "Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya Man".

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It struck me as I listened that I hear "tryna" as more active than "want to". In the case of "wanting" I'd say "wanna". With "tryna" I am more seeking something. "I'm not [seeking] to see more blood." I am wanting but there is much more effort with "tryna". "I'm tryna get to Oakland," puts you in the car leaning out the window imploring or railing against some obstacle.

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I'm not tryna start nothing, but this episode kept reminding me of the 1992 song I Got a Man: https://youtu.be/VvYIpa1Ulvw

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