228 Forms of Say
century. All I’m saying is thus older and more developed as a comment clause
than what I’m saying , which is more literal and more varied in form and use
(cf. You know what I’m saying , That is (not) what I’m saying , listen to what
I’m saying , do you understand what I am saying )
What is true of all of these comment clauses – apart from their common
basis in say – is their increasing frequency in contemporary English. The rise
of that said and having said that was displayed in Figure 7.3. (Note that this
has been almost entirely displaced by that and that the complex forms – that
being said and that having been said – are still quite rare.) The rise of ( I’m )
just saying/ sayin’ in Present- day English is especially dramatic, as shown in
Figure 7.4. All/ what I’m saying show more modest increases.