I was thinking about these three forms these past couple of weeks. The first indicates to me a dialogue, the second can refer a dialogue or perhaps a lecture, and the third a sort of monologue to an audience that doesn't respond/doesn't listen/doesn't care.

Are these distinctions my own idiolect or are they shared by others?

these distinctions

1) I'm talking with somebody.
2) I'm gonna give you a good talking to! (discipline) or, I have to give them a good talking to. (disuss some problem) or, I'm talking to someone.
3) I feel like she's just talking at me.

So, yeah, AnnaS...dialogue/lecture or dialogue/self-absorbed monologue...pretty much concur.

Notice talking to can become a noun phrase in some cases. The word for that, anyone? Tsuwm?... (and I was just looking at two first-month threads of yours on Q & A called "nouns that become verbs" and "verbs that becomes nouns"...the latter only had one reply!...a tswum thread with one reply, that's a rarity!)

Agreed. Another way of seeing the distinction is that those who swear would swear at someone; you would never swear "with" or swear "to" them.

>Notice talking to can become a noun phrase in some cases.

actually, talking-to with the hyphen is a noun. but you're probably thinking of the verbal noun, analogous to the L. gerund, a noun derived directly from a verb or verb stem and in some uses having the sense and constructions of a verb; to wit, talking.

and as for any thread of mine that elicited one response in those early days, don't let me witness the accursing, castigating and excommunicating of that poor, benighted soul.

http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/

a tswum thread with [only] one reply, that's a rarity!

A shameful inattention which I have now remedied.

Actually©, talking with is a creeping Americanism. You rarely hear it in the English English-speaking world. You would normally expect to hear talking to. You would, however, have a conversation with someone.

FWIW.

For me both 'talk to' and 'speak to' are the usual neutral forms meaning 'address' and 'converse with', though both also have an additional pregnant sense 'rebuke, buttonhole, dress down'.

As to 'talk with' and 'speak with', I could use these, and don't feel they're Americanisms, but they're much less usual. 'Talk with' is associated with Dr Doolittle, where it was required as a parallel to 'walk with'. The 'with' forms are largely absent from my dictionaries.

There was a comedy episode, of what I can't remember, where a German tourist said 'talk' and a choleric Arthur Lowe snapped 'Parrots talk, people speak!'.

I agree to some extent, Nicholas: I also use both talk and speak. I have been reflecting on why and when I use the two forms, and I think it depends on the circumstances as to which I woudl use. If we were conversing on the telephone, I mught well conclude with, "... I'll talk to you later about this." But if I had phoned you and was answered by someone else, I would almost certainly say, "I would like to speak with Nicholas, please."

Why is that, I wonder?

don't let me witness the accursing, castigating and excommunicating of that poor, benighted soul.

This would be the poor, benighted soul who had the temerity to respond to a thread of yours, tsuwm?

talking with is a creeping Americanism.

Heaven forfend that one use one word when three will do just as well!

don't let me witness the accursing, castigating and excommunicating of that poor, benighted soul.

>This would be the poor, benighted soul who had the temerity to respond to a thread of yours, tsuwm?

man, you work overtime putting some verbal nouns into a post and this is the rewarding you get.


http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/

man, you work overtime putting some verbal nouns into a post and this is the rewarding you get.

tsuwm, when one has so high a ranking, do maledicting, excoriating and belaboring require overtime laboring?

Walk With Me, Talk With Me, Jesus -

To go a bit off track, I'll add the US regionalism that "talking to" can mean "going out with, dating", as in "So, Betty Sue, who are you talking to these days?" It is a Southernism, as far as I know, but the only direct experience of it I have is from my wife, who lived in Alabama for a time, so it may not be common across the entire South (Jackie?)

How strange! In C19 England, the legal "euphemism" for adultery was, "criminal conversation!"


(A phrase which has always amused me, I must admit!)

the legal "euphemism" for adultery was, "criminal conversation!"

intercourse

CK says talking with is a creeping Americanism.

Faldage says Heaven forfend that one use one word when three will do just as well!

CK ripostes Hang on, hang on, I didn't say creepy American, you know.