Native English speakers: Is this sentence grammatically possible for you?
I like barbecue.
If so, what kind of food does "barbecue" refer to? What do you think of? Brazilian barbecue? Korean barbecue? Tennessee barbecue (Jamie?).
Yes, we agree that barbecue is a noun to refer to a party, such as "I'm having a barbecue at my house tomorrow." It can also be a noun for the actual grill, like "I bought a new barbecue for my husband for his birthday."
There is also the verb "to barbecue," like, "I barbecued steak for dinner". The verb lends itself to the participle, like in "I like barbecued ribs."
But can you use barbecue as a uncountable noun that is synonymous with food?
Don't look in dictionaries, please. Just tell me if the sentence "I like barbecue" sounds good to you or sounds strange to you. Is it something you would say?
If you've been living in another country for a while and listening to non-native speakers speak English all day, be careful. Some things become acceptable after hearing them a million times. So try to remember when you first moved to the country and if a sentence like "I like barbecue" or "I had barbecue for dinner" sounded strange to you.
I have to say that it's really strange for me to use "barbecue" like this. But I think it's becoming acceptable in English because so many other languages have an uncountable noun for "barbecue", and when the cultures come into the US, their speakers bring the word with them. (So that's why you can find "Korean barbecue" in the US.)
However, I grew up on the west coast. The exactly two instances that I've heard native speakers use "barbecue" like this were both referring to southern states. Is it a regional thing?
Discuss! (And I hope this didn't make you too hungry.) :)
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Perfectly acceptable and not strange at all. Maybe it's a regional thing though. I grew up and live in the Southeastern US (Georgia). To me, "barbecue" refers to specially prepared pork (slow cooked over a wood fire) and served with various types of sauces (varies by region). My favorite barbecue sauce is vinegar based and is generally associated with North Carolina (South Carolina is mustard based and Georgia more of a sweet tomato based).
ReplyDeleteFirst reaction: Yes, "I like barbecue" is grammatically possible for me. It's normal for me to say and hear, "Let's have barbecue tonight!" Buuut, I grew up/hang out around Filipino/Spanish (respectively) bilingual barbecues... do I count? mmm bilingual barbecue!
ReplyDeleteI think it's totally possible to say this; it has the same implications as saying, "I like to barbecue," but without the added intention of meaning you like the actual process of barbecue.
ReplyDeleteEither way, we are starting to have a tendency in English to say things that don't make a lot of grammatical sense, but are understood at the same time. Such as the trend amongst middle-school age girls to say, "This is happy-making," instead of, "This makes me happy."
My internal language meter is shouting wrong wrong wrong wrong!! Barbecue is something you DO not something you EAT (you EAT barbecued meat)...
ReplyDeleteBut how else to translate "Gosto de churrasco"....sigh.
This is a very regional thing. I'm with Troy. I lived in North Carolina for several years and there the ONLY acceptable use for the word barbecue is as an uncountable noun. If your friends are grilling hamburgers in the backyard, that's a "cook-out". And it's done on a grill. In NC, barbecue refers to a very specific dish-- slow-cooked, pulled pork with sauce. I also grew up in KY, where barbecue is also a noun, but refers to mutton, not pork.
ReplyDeleteMy (Brazilian) boyfriend and I once watched an Anthony Bourdain episode where he ate NC barbecue, and Bruno got really confused when they were talking about sauce because in his mind, "churrasco" has nothing to do with sauces!
Ummm...I LOVE BARBEQUE.
ReplyDeleteAnd miss it terribly. For me barbeque refers to a type of food. Like Troy its slow cooked pork and the best place in the WORLD to get it is in South Carolina. Holy crap I can't wait til I go home. And Troy just so you know, my favorite is vinegar based too...Living in SC for a while, only ate mustard based once, everywhere usually served vinegar based.
Holy cravings...bbq and hushpuppies, now please.
That sentence is totally grammatical for me. I can't actually hear myself saying it though, maybe because nothing vegetarian fits into my definition of "barbecue" in this sense. I think of marinated meets over hots flames. I can also imagine barbecue as a flavor. Your sentence would mean that someone likes barbecue flavored things.
ReplyDeleteWell, look at your follow-up questions... "What do you think of? Brazilian barbecue? Korean barbecue? Tennessee barbecue?" Aren't you using the non-count version of the word in those instances too?
ReplyDeleteIf I heard someone say "I like barbecue", I would first think of American/southern BBQ, but that's just a bias of what we consider BBQ here in the states. I think quickly "I like barbecue" could encompass all versions of any delicious meat grilled and charred. YUM. "I like barbecue" to me means "I liked barbecued food". I almost want to say it could refer to the act of barbecuing as well... but I think that might be me reading into it too much.
Grammatical: yes. Delicious: also yes.
Where I live (Canada) it would be understood, not common, but understood. Usage as a verb is the norm.
ReplyDeleteHere is another one that has crept into usage here by english-speaking German (often Mennonite Germans) and is not uncommon where I live:
"I am going with."
Okay, you linguistic experts, can you explain to me the reason for the "with" tag? (It is always used just like that, sort of dangling at the end.
Here in Rhode Island, my neighbor just invite us over for a barbecue this coming Sunday...
ReplyDeleteThere will be no slow cooked pork, just grilled Lobsters, local caught Sword Fish and Mussels, no sauces...just grilled seafood with salt and lemon juice...
I guess the word has been stolen by any one having a cook out anywhere in the US...
This comes from my boyfriend:
ReplyDelete"You'd only say that if you were Homer Simpson. (Pause) Having said that, I'm English, so I don't know much about barbecues in the first place!". Hope it helped! ;)
I am with Troy on this one, and we seem to be from the same place.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say 'I like barbecue', but I really don't - not in the south of the US or the south of Brazil. (I understand this was a grammar question, but I thought I'd share my feeling on the food, too!)
I'm with you Danielle, it just sounds weird to me. I feel like I may have heard it used that way once or twice, but I would never say it. I'm from New Jersey, so maybe that's why?
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm coming late to the BBQ.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the sentiment that it is a regional thing. While completely grammatical in common usage in some areas - in others (like the Bay Area / San Francisco) - if I said that people would tilt their head and ask barbecued what? - again, unless we all came from Louisiana or South Carolina or such.