Why do so many people use the word “like” excessively? It seems the majority of gamers I talk to can't form a simple sentence without using “like” in redundancy. It's as if Jeremy from Pure Pwnage is a legitimate example of how gamers actually speak. This is something I'd rather not listen to. "Like, ya know like, how like”.

It pains me when I attempt to watch and listen to resources such as the Day9 Daily and the SotG Podcasts, as I need to endure the “like” barrage to gain the succulent knowledge/insight into SC2 and its scene contained within. If I could ignore it I would, but the word is used every few seconds whenever I'm on ventrilo, watching a video, or listening to a podcast with gamers present.

N3rV[Green]

United States1935 Posts

October 13 2010 22:02 GMT

It's not as bad as blonde girls from the cali valley. I know this from personal experience. Be glad we're not that bad.

leetchaos

United States395 Posts

October 13 2010 22:08 GMT

It's a word of many uses... and mis-uses.

synapse

China13814 Posts

October 13 2010 22:15 GMT

I try to not say "like," but it's such a hard habit to get rid of... Usually I just pause and not say anything whenever I'm about to say "like."

MutaDoom

Canada1163 Posts

October 13 2010 22:16 GMT

On October 14 2010 07:08 leetchaos wrote:
It's a word of many uses... and mis-uses.

Kind of like "Fuck" or "Number 2"?

RebirthOfLeGenD

USA5860 Posts

October 13 2010 22:24 GMT

I remember like 6 years ago when I used this word to often when telling a story or something. But try to think of a way to say someone was saying something. Then he was like and I was like then they were like. He said he was then I expressed and she noted.

Its just a lot more thought/effort to put into something. But the redundancy drove me crazy so I don't do it anymore (I think?)

Angra

United States2652 Posts

October 13 2010 22:25 GMT

I dunno about the rest of the internet, but living in California my whole life, it's a hard habit to break when you've grown up around it for so many years. I don't think I use it that excessively most of the time, but it slips in every once in awhile.

Rinrun

Canada3509 Posts

October 13 2010 22:27 GMT

Like is a filler word that is used when you, like, don't really know what your going to, like, say.
(Its a habit that I sometimes revert to... unfortunately)

seRapH

United States9777 Posts

October 13 2010 22:28 GMT

but my high school english teacher told me similies were good!

VonLego

United States519 Posts

October 13 2010 22:29 GMT

#10

I also am plagued by this bad habit when articulating a story in a casual setting.

GreatFall

United States1061 Posts

October 13 2010 22:32 GMT

#11

As someone who is from the valley in southern California, I take offense to your post! That is like, totally our native dialect.

Kwidowmaker

Canada978 Posts

October 13 2010 22:36 GMT

#12

This isn't a trait unique to gamers, it's like an epidemic in North American culture, dude

Also I don't know what's up with you but I don't mind like at all, it keeps the flow of speech much better than "uh"

IceCube

Croatia1403 Posts

October 13 2010 22:36 GMT

#13

@GreatFall are you like girl or like tottaly blond something? like seriously...

Sentenal

United States12398 Posts

October 13 2010 22:37 GMT

#14

Its hard to get away from using it. The word is just so easy to use, and is able to be used in so many different situations.

FrostShadow

United States335 Posts

October 13 2010 22:40 GMT

#15

Its often used in the same way "uh" is, to either provide a pause for you to think or to indicate a break when you dont want to stop talking to relinquish control of a conversation.

caldo149

United States469 Posts

October 13 2010 22:40 GMT

#16

it's not just gamers, I would be confident in saying that a vast majority of people use like frequently in their speech.

Perhaps its prevalence is because it allows people to make true statements while being uncertain of the facts, e.g. "...and then she was like 'omg thanks for the help! I owe you one!'" People just say "like" because they don't remember exactly what someone might have said, and so to say, "...and then she said, 'omg thanks for the help! I owe you one!'" could be inaccurate because she could have used different words to express the same idea. The "like" phrase, however, doesn't allow for this kind of problem.

Sure it could be replaced with "as if," "akin to," "similar to" or some other word/phrase but "like" is simple and versatile which is probably why it's used a lot.

Cofo

United States1388 Posts

October 13 2010 22:46 GMT

#17

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_(linguistics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedge_(linguistics)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simile

skindzer

Chile5114 Posts

October 13 2010 22:52 GMT

#18

On October 14 2010 07:02 N3rV[Green] wrote:
It's not as bad as blonde girls from the cali valley. I know this from personal experience. Be glad we're not that bad.

SF-Fork

Russian Federation1401 Posts

October 13 2010 22:57 GMT

#19

I especially hate people using ''would of / should of'' instead of ''would have // should have''.

Been wanting to say this for a long time, sorry to derail.

eLiE

Canada1039 Posts

October 13 2010 23:06 GMT

#20

yeah, like synapse (boom, proper usage!), i trained myself to pause in place of the word 'like', because i would hear myself talking and think 'i sound like a retard, i gotta fix this shit'. plus, well placed pauses make you sound more dramatic and sophisticated, lol. it's not too hard if you make a conscious effort to fix it.