Characters that don't.....er.....do not use contractions

[Stanislav]

ME-TV's promos for their upcoming I Dream of Jeannie tribute to Larry Hagman reminded me that Jeannie (Barbara Eden) is one of a handful of regular TV characters who consistently eschew the use of contractions in their speech. Two others that come to mind are Data (Brent Spiner) on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) on NCIS. Can you think of other examples?

 

[Stanislav]

Just thought of one more obvious example: T'ealc (Christopher Judge) on Stargate SG-1. (Indeed.)

 

[Corky Marlowe]

Not TV, but many of the characters in "Guys And Dolls" did not use contractions.

 

[rnigma1]

Not TV, but many of the characters in "Guys And Dolls" did not use contractions.

Yup, nearly all of Damon Runyon's characters tended to eschew contractions.

 

[landtuna]

Both Jeannie and Ziva David are characters whose first language is other than English. As I saw with my two adopted daughters, people coming from a non-English background tend to have problems with contractions until they get fluent.

 

[RALfan]

I shall add Grover from "Sesame Street" to the list.

 

[cd637299]

I "am not" sure of these, and I "will not" assume, so maybe "you will" help me out on some of these....

How about:

The robot on "Lost in Space"?
Rhoda (Julie Newmar) on "My Living Doll"?
The Coneheads?

cd

 

[Stanislav]

Both Jeannie and Ziva David are characters whose first language is other than English. As I saw with my two adopted daughters, people coming from a non-English background tend to have problems with contractions until they get fluent.

How about:

The robot on "Lost in Space"?
Rhoda (Julie Newmar) on "My Living Doll"?
The Coneheads?

cd

Note the pattern so far: contraction-averse characters tend to be foreign/EASL (Ziva David, Jeannie), alien (T'ealc, Coneheads), or non-human (Data, Robot, Rhoda, Grover). I guess the theory is that avoiding contractions makes speech sound more stilted and unnatural and, hence, more "foreign" or "other-worldly."

 

[Ultimajock]

...I may be wrong on this, but it seems to me Marcie did not use contractions in at least one or two of the Peanuts specials...

 

[cordeliachase]

On cartoon "King of the Hill," Hank's wife Peggy, voiced by Kathy Najimy, does not use contractions!

 

[bpatrick]

How about Patrick McGoohan as Number 6 on "The Prisoner"?
I can still remember what might have been his most famous line:
"I am not a number, I am a free man."

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Wasn't B-9 The Robot on "Lost In Space" another character who never used contractions??

For example, he often (especially in early episodes of the series) said "That Does Not Compute" instead of "That Doesn't Compute".

 

[KeithE4]

I have found that people who do not use contractions tend to be very annoying. At least this is what I have observed. One should not refrain from using them where appropriate. I cannot imagine not using them. ;D

 

[cd637299]

I have found that people who do not use contractions tend to be very annoying. At least this is what I have observed. One should not refrain from using them where appropriate. I cannot imagine not using them. ;D

I once read these online, not sure the source:

Never abbrev.

Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.

cd

 

[Stanislav]

I have found that people who do not use contractions tend to be very annoying. At least this is what I have observed. One should not refrain from using them where appropriate. I cannot imagine not using them. ;D

I once read these online, not sure the source:

Never abbrev.

Never use a preposition to end a sentence with.

cd

Recall Churchill's famous quip on ending a sentence with a preposition:

"That is something up with which I will not put."