Kids have started using the word “because” like a preposition in sentences. (“I didn’t finish my homework because Skyrim.”) Is this slangy syntax here to stay?
Because grammar
In Standard English, the word “because” can be used two ways. It can introduce a clause as a subordinating conjunction (“Brandy ordered pizza because she loves cheese”). “Because” can also team up with “of” and be followed by a prepositional phrase. For example, “Brandy ordered pizza because of the cheese.” In the past few years, however, a non-standard usage has been gaining wider and wider acceptance: what linguists are calling “because NOUN” (“Brandy ordered pizza because cheese”). In this construction, it should be obvious why Brandy orders pizza: because, duh, cheese is the best.
Because Jack Handey
It’s hard to say where “because NOUN” started. Perhaps with Jack Handey? The segment “Deep Thoughts” was a recurring joke on Saturday Night Live from 1991-1998. (Of course, if you’re old enough to remember Jack Handey, you’re probably too old to be using because NOUN with much frequency.) One of Handey’s most famous absurdist gems went like this: “If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you’ll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy.” In this sentence, the “hey” works like an adaptor, shifting from an ordinary speech register to a casual and condensed register. It’s like a verbal shrug.
After a string of other “because-hey” memes entered the popular vernacular (“If life gives you lemons, keep them, because, hey, free lemons”), eventually the “hey” was dropped. After all, who has time for so many words these days? Forget about elaborate, grammatically correct explanations. The one-word noun contains all the necessary information and cultural references. Recently, “Because Skyrim” became a popular meme among teenagers, as in, “I can’t do my homework because Skyrim.” Everyone, even if they’re not familiar with this particular video game, quickly understands – or infers – that it’s so absorbing that there’s no time for anything else.
Mark Liberman, one of the linguists who coined the term “because NOUN,” noted that when used among adults, the construction can also imply a weak line of reasoning. (“Why did you do that?” “Because reasons.”) He gave an example from a headline: “Louisiana GOP Bigot Changes Mind on School Vouchers Because Muslims.”
Because kids
“Because NOUN” is still generally understood to imply sarcasm or a joke. However, there’s been an interesting development. Neal Whitman of the great Literal Minded blog noticed that young kids (who are presumably not surfing the net for hilarious “because racecar” pics) are adopting this new usage. In an article in Slate this past summer, young children were asked to choose their favorite Pixar movie. A five-year-old chose Toy Story 2, “Because Evil Emperor Zurg!” A four-year-old liked Monster Inc. “Because the day care.” A six-year-old chose Monsters University, “because the part where Sully has the big roar and scares all the policemen.” Children are simply learning the “because NOUN” syntax without the sarcasm. Or maybe young kids have always spoken like this, and teens are regressing back to baby talk because it’s easier to tweet.
Because NOUN is sarcastic and slangy, casual and snappy. It’s youth-speak, perfectly in tune with our lightning-fast era of tweets and texts and memes. Is because NOUN just a passing fad, or are we looking at a real change in the popular vernacular? Will kids born today speak in tweet in the future? Stay tuned. Because Internet.
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