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.
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?)
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
'Like' everybody else said, it's just 'like' a filler word. It's something that you 'like' learn about public speaking. You, 'like', need to just be aware of it. I'm sure if you just 'like' listen to yourself talk you'd 'like' hear yourself repeat either "like" or "um" or something 'like' it. It's just a comfortable word for people to use when they need time to process their thought.
Unless of course you were taught how to speak properly at some point in your life. It's a fun exercise though, if you're ever in a boring lecture, to count how many times the speaker uses a filler word. But be warned that you'll completely miss anything they're saying once you're aware of them.
That "House" clip is hilarious. It's quite well-done. Never seen it before. Like I can totally see the two of them as like valley girls.
Forgot to add that it's a pretty simple habit to fix if you're just more aware of what you're saying.
Oh, so it's a North American thing? In Australia, many people say "ya know" in the place of "like", but sometimes both are said and all I hear is "like, ya know, like, ya know"
On October 14 2010 08:10 online_only wrote: Oh, so it's a North American thing? In Australia, many people say "ya know" in the place of "like", but sometimes both are said and all I hear is "like, ya know, like, ya know"
"ya know"...although excessive use of "like" is bad, when you hear excessive use of "ya know", I feel like punching the person in the face.
On October 14 2010 07:29 VonLego wrote: I also am plagued by this bad habit when articulating a story in a casual setting.
me too My 4th grade teacher lectured that saying Like too much was bad and he would notice if we said "uh" or "like" and would give a speech if he catches too much in 1 day. it slowly transitioned back into my vocab after a while
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.
I don't like when people use it excessively, but I don't mind at all when it's used every few sentences. I pretty much can't stand it when it comes to stereotypical blond high school girls who go around saying "omg, that test was like so hard. I saw question 15 and was like 'what the fuck!'. Like this wasn't even in any of the study notes"(so pretty much that All house video posted). If people purposely refrain from using it all all they appear as grammar nazi's to me though. I find it's easy to use the better alternative for "like" when typing, so I don't notice the problem as much there, but it's common for most people to slip it in every now and then when speaking.
Better than people overusing the words "love" and "hate". Those are some extreme emotions, and people just spurt out the words like they're nothing. And I do think people use "like" too much. Maybe it's because peoples' vocabularies are as bad as like, whatever.
On October 14 2010 07:00 online_only wrote: 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.
You know what pains me.. when I see people use "pains" instead of hurts
it's a filler word used to buy time to think of the next word, usually one that describes the degree to which something is done (very, so, kind of)
i dont have a problem with it, except when one person uses it TOO much and it starts to stand out. then i cant hear anything else except for the "like"
Sorry to derail, but as for my own personal rant, I truly believe the most commonly misspelled word on this forum is lose or losing being spelled loose or loosing.
I noticed that when I stopped myself from saying like all the time I had actually just replaced the word with other words such as actually, basically or honestly.
I agree with caldo140... I think that sometimes "like" is necessary in conversation... For example if I wanted to quote what somebody said, I'd say "she was all like, 'ima eat yo babies'". I would use "like" because I'm not repeating what she said verbatim. I'm just giving you an idea of what was said. So I feel using "like" in this situation is much more convenient than saying "she said" or "she retorted" etc since I'm not directly quoting said individual.
Don't worry other languages have the same bad habits though... in french especially in Quebec people tell a lot of "genre" which means "like" in the comparison sense.
I try not to say "genre" too often but when everybody does it it's kinda hard... it becomes just naturaly like cool new expressions and stuff.
I use it quite a bit too, it is probably because i am not a native speaker and my english is mid-level. I also have problems with using kind of - kinda. I also say fuck or fucking a lot and don't really understand that i sound garbage that way. I love English though - funniest shit was when i tried to read Shakespeare in orignal, understood about every sixth and half word.