(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

Recently I reported an interviewee who said "self-referred myself." The interview I'm transcribing now features a different, probably more pervasive redundancy: the doubled "is." Many a sentence follows a format something like, "The thing is, is that...," and I can tell it's not a stutter. It must be one of many speech habits I'd overlook (overlisten?) if I were merely having a conversation and not writing it down.

I've decided to write just one "is" each time. The client shouldn't mind.

Comments

[thatcatgirl.livejournal.com]

There must be a lot of things people say that don't stand out as odd until they're written down and need to make sense that way.

[carlfoxmarten]

I can think of certain times that the double "is" makes sense, but I think it falls under one of the grammatical grey areas...

[ccdesan.livejournal.com]

Well, it all depends on what the meaning of "is" is...

Sorry.

[carlfoxmarten]

"Define the word 'is'"? ;)