Why do people like stick the word 'like' into like everything they like say?

[foxracin_boi]

i like kinda say like "like" in like every sentence wen i try to explain something

 

[earllogjam]

I am claiming that it's acceptable for style to win over economy or simplicity.

A recipe for disaster. People who communicate in English need to be taught the English language first then take license to change it with that foundation of grammar under their belt - this is why Ebonics and Pidgin are not taught in schools nor recognized as proper spoken English.

This is why people don't conduct job interviews in Pidgin. Provincialism and colloquialism in language are fine but if you want to be understood and be a part of the greater civilization you MUST speak standardized English.

 

[SpeedoGuy]

Its almost as annoying as those who interject "you know" into every spoken phrase.

 

[Not_Punny]

People say "like" a lot because they fail to gather their thoughts prior to opening their mouths.

Mental hiccups is perhaps a kinder way to put it.

 

[D_Thoraxis_Biggulp]

People say "like" a lot because they fail to gather their thoughts prior to opening their mouths.

Mental hiccups is perhaps a kinder way to put it.

That's a good way to put it.

Or a stutter/stammer that can actually be spelled.

 

[Calboner]

Yesterday I was subjected to some samples of "like"-speak (driving a car with some twenty-somethings aboard), and I noticed that the occurrence of "like" in their utterances had nothing whatever to do with pausing or hesitating. Even when they were speaking quite rapidly, they would stick "like" in superfluously about every three or four words. They are so accustomed to it that they have no idea how tedious it is to listen to or how stupid it sounds.

 

[Knockernail]

I use to get lost between all those likes, kindas, suchs...

It is like... wow, y'know what i mean? :biggrin1::tongue:

 

[TwasBrillig]

What about the use of LIKE as a replacement for the word SAID?

Example:
So I'm like "want get together?" And he's like "O.K." And I'm like "when?" and he's like "tonight?" And I'm like "sure".

Hardly a placeholder, just poor English. While I completely agree that languages are living entities that necessarily must grow and change, I also agree that a solid grounding in at least basic grammatical structure and vocabulary are required before creating "New Speak".

 

[Calboner]

What about the use of LIKE as a replacement for the word SAID?

Example:
So I'm like "want get together?" And he's like "O.K." And I'm like "when?" and he's like "tonight?" And I'm like "sure".

Hardly a placeholder, just poor English.

Yes, that is another manifestation of the same brain-rot. There is an excellent satirical movie that shows where all this leads: Idiocracy, written and directed by Mike Judge. A man of average intelligence (IQ 100) who is cryogenically frozen in the year 2005 awakens in the year 2505 to find that he is now the most intelligent human being on earth. "Unaware of what year it was, Joe wandered the streets, desperate for help. But the English language had deteriorated into a hybrid of hillbilly, Valley-girl, inner-city slang and various grunts. Joe was able to understand them, but when he spoke in an ordinary voice he sounded pompous and faggy to them." In many respects, the scenario is an only slightly exaggerated representation of the prevalence of idiocy in the present day.

 

[TwasBrillig]

Unfortunately it won't take until the year 2505. A funny film but, sadly, may be apocalyptic. Coming to a school near you soon.

 

[deleted213967]

Teen girls seem to use "like" as liberally as boys "...and shit".

"Like...that's cool...and shit"

Of the noble art of saying nothing with a maximum number of words...

 

[B_dumbcow]

I'm not stupid or uneducated, but I say like all the time.

It's just the way everyone I know who is in their early twenties/late teens converses.


See below:

I am so like saying a trillion likes like all the time and shit like that, isn't it.
("I say like at regular intervals")

 

[Catchoftheday]

Like, I'm not being funny but ....like...

If I hear another person saying "I'm not being funny but.." I will probably have to kill them :redface:

 

[cockoloco]

Like, I'm not being funny but ....like...

If I hear another person saying "I'm not being funny but.." I will probably have to kill them :redface:

OMG! we're discovering Catch's aggressive side!!!!!!

 

[B_dumbcow]

OMG! we're discovering Catch's aggressive side!!!!!!

Like, I'm not being funny, maybe we are, sugar muffin. :smile:

:kiss:

 

[cockoloco]

Like, I'm not being funny, maybe we are, sugar muffin. :smile:

:kiss:

yeah...like..you know, I totally get it..like. But let's not annoy Catch, baby!

 

[SpeedoMike]

it's shorter than gag me with a spoon!

 

[TwasBrillig]

it's shorter than gag me with a spoon!

Gadzooks! We did once say that? I blush with embarrassment.

 

[ZOS23xy]

they "like" it.

Uhm, it's like a pause in though, where you know, like, their lips and brains can catch up to each other and, you know, they can talk with real content again.

Ya know what I meeen?

There are other semi literatacies that abound, as in "the man he go..." in order to indicate someone speaking.

or,

"That's cool" in oder to end a conversation.

Phrases come and go in fashion. Some of the superlatives of times past include, "Cool, man". "Far Out". "Really." "What's up?" (and the more irritating "Wassup?") "Dig it."

"And so on."

 

[Catchoftheday]

Like, I'm not being funny, maybe we are, sugar muffin. :smile:

:kiss:

:buttkick::hitwithrock::wiggle: