"I wanna say..." NO you ARE saying..!

[Mintoneee]

AIBU to find this mildly irritating. Or maybe I just don't like my colleague...

So for instance someone is asked a question:
"how long did you work there for?
The response:
"I wanna say.. 3 years"

But you don't want to say, you are saying..

I get what you mean but they're saying it to mean 'roughly' or 'about'.

Yeah I get that, but it doesn't make sense so you're better off saying "about 3 years"

That doesn't bother me too much.

What does bother me is 'think'.

"I've worked here for quite a while (think 3 years)".

Errrm I don't need to think it. I know it, because you've just told me? 😳

Doesn’t bother me at all.

It means 'actually I can't remember off the top of my head but the answer that's springing to mind (aka I want to say) is...'

I could care less about this. Language evolves

Yeah I get that "think" is annoying too.

I don't really care about this sort of thing usually, but "I wanna say" just doesn't make any sense!

I always read it (and “think”) as an approximation because they can’t remember for certain. So they aren’t saying “I have worked here for three years”. They are saying “My best guess is around three years, but I might be wrong.” Which can have implications for how the person receiving the information might use it.

So I am saying YABU! And I don’t wanna say it, I am* *saying it because I’m sure of it.

I know what you mean OP.

My mum often says ‘remember me to….’ instead of ‘remind me to….’.

It’s petty but it’s incorrect and bugs me - although I’d never embarrass her by pulling her up on it.

I wanna ask, how much less? How do you measure that? 🤔😆

And yes OP, your example is a very irritating way of saying something that's actually very simple and straightforward to say.

It's just a turn of phrase. A way of saying "I think it was 3 years". Not really anything to get upset about a lot of people use.it.

I think some posters on here won't be happy until every casual interaction takes place using the same formal language as a dissertation.

That's not what it means. It's a phrase that's used when people want to give details of something but can't be sure exactly.
Language is ever evolving; it's OK to embrace new terminology, OP.

It's not a new thing. My mother (who would have been pushing 100 now) used to say it when she really wasn't sure about something but knew she knew it really. "What's the name of the woman in the corner house, Mum?" "Oh, I want to say Margaret but I'm not sure that's right, Feather". She would never have said "wanna" though.

Exactly this.

I use it when my husband asks how much something cost years ago.

'I fink it was £500 but I can't be sure' is so very bland.

Edited because I'm a dick and I read the post wrong, despite fecking quoting it! 🤦‍♀️

Maybe you just don't like the speaker. Some people are annoying no matter what they do or say and some people you like and allow them some leeway despite what they say.