Do you speak intelligently? Or use the word "like" inappropriately?

Like, for real

I am, like, SO smart.

OP get a life

Is he, like, cute? Will you have an opportunity to see him, like, naked?

The worst is when they begin a sentence with "And like...." i.e. And like, I have to go the store. And like, they were sold out of toilet paper last week. And like, I'm out of toilet paper now."

It's strange. I would have expected the millennials to rebel against the valley girl speech style of the previous generations. I'd rather they just pause every few words. Even, "uh" is better than "like". "Like" sounds so fucking stupid.

This. Never. Happened.

I like literally died when I saw this topic. Sounds like a you problem. Hate to see it.

Don't be problematic, R7.

"Then I go" instead of "I said," and "then he goes," instead of "he said." Or beginning every sentence with, "So."

R9, I hate that, too. "Then I go" is very similar to: And I'm like ".....", and then he's like ".....", and I'm like "....".

A couple of weeks ago, there was an article on the Daily Mail that transcribed Goop and Cameron Diaz' podcast conversation. And 90 percent of the comments were mocking their speaking style: And then I'm like ".....", and so you go "....", and then I went "....", and you were like "....".

What about starting every sentence with "I mean..." . As in "I mean, I find that so dorky."

When I was young, yeah, like all the time, literally.

Weened myself away for it, though I'll use it now to make a point.

I too, hear such communicators at work. Very annoying. I start counting "You know" OR "Like" OR "I Mean".

OP and OP11, it's good to know that I'm not the only person who find people who speak like that to be uneducated. Maybe these people just aren't used to speaking in professional settings? Maybe they can only communicate in jargon and slang.

R11, I think that 20 percent of sentences on Reddit start with "I mean". Its the most unnecessary clause ever. I'm not sure exactly when or why it started, but it's everywhere now.

Also, "So..."

So, I have a question. So, are we still meeting?

When I interview people for roles reporting to me, excessive use of like as a verbal prop is a deal breaker as I know that it would irritate the hell out of me having to listen to it all day every day. I like, totally only give the like idiotic candidates the minimum interview time like possible. Like.

With the job market the way it is, people don’t want to ruin their chances at the outset.

Of course I can never provide this as feedback to failed candidates due to the risk of lawsuits.

Ditto “So,...”.

I'm guilty of over using the word really. This is currently a gripe discussion amongst British English speakers. I certainly use slang, and impolite expletives at times, yet I am effective at code switching. The funny thing about language is that it often is not indicative of intelligence. (I want to type "really" here, but I shall refrain.)

We're all programmed from birth to mimic those around us: parents, schoolteachers, peers. One can have the advantages of well spoken parents, good schools, and well spoken friends, and still end up daft, superficial, and flakey. Many sound intelligent, yet they're actually average or below.

Some who pepper their language with these fillers are actually highly intelligent, yet they're completely unaware of how they are perceived by others. It can be highly annoying (as well as confusing at times) listening to them speak however. One must judge fairly, and not place much emphasis on it. If a candidate for a position which involves writing, and they're incapable, that's a different matter altogether.

If it’s a candidate for a position that involves them working within earshot of me, they have no chance, sadly.

Oh no, colloquial speech patterns. The horror!

well, you know, sometimes...

R8, how about when the entirety of the sentence is:

"I mean..."

That's it. I mean...

Does speech imitate Reddit or does Reddit imitate speech?

Sorry, R22 was intended for R11.

I mean.... Yeah.

Judge Judy viciously reprimands litigants who use "like" in every sentence.

NOT LIKE!

You will notice it more because speakers no longer have the use of facial expressions to help “fill out” their messages.

If I'm speaking publicly or in a formal setting, I speak the speech of a well-read, intelligent, thoughtful person.

My speech in informal conversation with friends and acquaintances is peppered with some variation of "fuck" about every 3rd or 4th word. I don't think I've ever used "so", "like", "you know" or "I mean".

That’s why I love judge Judy . She like calls out the imbeciles, I mean really.

A century ago a camp counselor who I found very annoying began every sentence with, “well, I don’t mean to say anything .... but...” Even to a very young dorky gayling, I knew it was so wrong

I totally talk good. What do you even mean? Like are you saying I sound dumb or something? You sound like some kinda word snob. Ya know?

I use like occasionally depending on who I'm talking to. Is it talking down, patronizing?

N’Oh, Dear R30 bless your heart

I hate statements started with 'Actually...........' Indians tend to this.

I also hate the trailed off non-option giver, ending a sentence with 'or' - s'o what we can do is option X or.............'

So yeah.

The thing is that it mimics a casual, social conversation you have with friends. It signifies closeness and familiarity and being amongst your like-minded peers or inner social circle, if you will.

Of course, it would be completely inappropriate for serious and professional conversations with your boss or total strangers. But on social media everybody is your friend.

He's a Valley Girl.

Some of these word habits are unconscious and can be very difficult to break.

My dad is autistic and has a processing disorder and I wouldn't be shocked if I have a touch of a processing disorder as well. Dad used poor english, so I didn't learn proper language usage. I tried to learn a lot of words and phrases throughout my early adult years because I was self-conscious about it.

Those of you who had academically inclined parents and are good with language don't know how lucky you are.

I have heard like many people with IQ 150 like flooding their sentences with so many likes that I'd like to relief myself in the loo to like get them out of system.

Like it proves anything, OP

Because of body language it can be determined who struggles with talking in public. Even so-called sophisticated people can be socially awkward.

What really bugs me are the ones who just can't shut up and talk rapidly so nobody else can chime in. Sometimes, it's to mask their nervousness, but it's still annoying.

I conversate real good.

Is OP under the impression that his writing style suggests intelligence?

My current pet peeve is people who make a statement and following it with "so, yeah". I noticed it is creeping into England also. I don't know why but I find these little quirks maddening. I'm old, so have lived through them all.

Like, um, my family is, um, like known for its class and intelligence

DL Fave AOC speaks this way all the time, all the time, all the gee-dee time.

And I'm like, you'll never be president with THAT much air in your head.

I never used "like" in, like, this way. Who wanted, like, to sound like Maynard G. Krebs?

And I refused to say "I was, like..." instead of "I said" or "I thought" until I heard Meryl Streep say it in an interview, and then I was, like, "I give up." This would have been in the early '00s. I don't say it often, but occasionally it slips out, kind of like "no problem."

OP your guy went to the Kim Kardashian's School of Speech.

Like for real.

I'll add "to be perfectly honest" to the list. I can't help but roll my eyes when I hear someone say that.

Your first question, yes; the second, no; the third, no; the fourth, yes.

Fluent ebonics if that is a real language.

One of the few benefits of being an older gay is that 'like' is a word that I seldom use.

OMG, OP! I like literally exploded into laughter when I perused your post. You are so totally mentioning a subject that is important to, like, everyone of us! The english language is being like so totally misused by all kinds of people irregardless of who they are and what they like do for livings. Each of us have to understand the language or it will, like, totally be something no one understands sooner or later! I mean, thanks for posting!

Have you noticed lately how many people respond to a question by beginning a sentence with "So?"

When I was a kid, got into the habit of saying "you know." It got cut short when my father would say "No I don.t" each time.

LOL R52. If I ever asked my mother a question like "Where is my book at?", she would reply "behind the 'at'". It was her simple way of telling me not to end sentences (questions) with a preposition.

Yeahyeahyeah all in one word. It sounds moronic.

I just...can’t. There’s a lot of stupid filler these days. One of my least faves is “ya know what I mean” after every sentence. I think everyone should be required to take speech class in high school and be videotaped talking. That may help the young ones get perspective on how terrible they sound before these habits get ingrained. I find myself overusing “like “ if I’m tired and can’t focus very well.

[quote] Weened myself away for it,

Wouldn’t that make you a weenee?

I’ll see myself out.

I agree with r27.

My speech is dictated by where I am and who I’m with. Professional setting is one thing; out with friends a completely different thing.

I hope r50 is not married cause I’m proposing.

Judge Milan of The People's Court usually interjects "Yes, that's what we expect of you when you come here" when a litigant says "To be honest, Your Honor...."

“Because”, R58, not “cause”.

[quote] I just...can’t.

And there's another one I can't stand.

I fight against using "anyway" as a transitional word.

Annoys the hell out of me!

It seems youngsters and pretentious people do it ALL the time.

I hate "sort of". Chris Hayes is a regular offender. The modifier dilutes certainty, and unintended consequence.

"an" not "and"

Judge Judy goes nuts when litigants say "basically," but tells us she feels "badly" about situations.

So, anyway....

Not on the same level, but "let me be clear" is usually followed by an outrageous falsehood.

Like maybe he dresses in drag and is a valley girl on weekends.

I say “uhhhh....” WAY too much.

My friends and I say "okay" too much and one day tried to ban it and change it, but it was so fucking horribly hard to stop. I am sensitive to the way people speak, internally criticize, but I'm also aware that for many people, verbal communication is fraught for many reasons. I think it is easy to talk like the the people you're around, get lazy, or be awkward and nervous speaking.

I hate catch-phrases, but then find myself using them. "Can't touch that" was a horrible 80s one. (MC Hammer for youths here)

[quote] One of my least faves is “ya know what I mean” after every sentence.

This is a very common filler phrase in the UK. It took me a while to realize people there weren’t actually asking me if I understood what they were saying. I thought they were asking me as a courtesy to see if I understood their way of speaking or a cultural reference, so I’d respond with an earnest yes almost every time . I must have come off “thick as pig shit.”

Doesn't annoy me as half as much as someone ending all of their sentences with "right".

Not "I know, right".

I mean:

"You take this and do that with it, right? And the something else happens, right? After that happens something else is going to follow that, right? That's the procedure that everyone has learned at this point, right? Etc., right? Fifty thousand more sentences ending with right to follow, right?"

Almost as annoying as sentences that both begin and end with "bro".

I speak intelligent.

Miss OP would take her shoe off and hit her new coworker with it to cure him of this bad habit.

If only her gunt wouldn't get in the way of reaching those Payless shoes......

I speak appropriately for the situation. I don’t address a warehouse employee in the same manner I do the CFO; I don’t address a young, uneducated person the way I address the elder gay in HR. And the prisspots who think there isn’t a difference are delusional and out-of-touch.

The fist sign of a person who provides a service not speaking intelligently, is saying "No Problem" when a customer says "Thank you."

R76, people who know English do not hyphenate "out of touch" when it is not a adjectival phrase.

Are were you addressing us a ESL fifth graders, Miss "I Speak to My Audience of the Moment with Exquisite Acuteness"?

And crapping on gay people the way you do is an unneeded revelation of your issues.

I once worked at a company that had an active Toastmasters group, and I joined. I think this was probably a Toastmasters thing, but we had an "um" jar, where, when you were speaking, people would count up the number of times you said "um" or "uh" and you'd have to contribute 5 cents for each offense. I know it's not much, (though several people probably had to sacrifice meals to satisfy their debt) but we went on to expand it to cover things like "like," "you know," "I mean," and "literally."

It was really good training. Now, when I hear people using these phrases (seems like too good a word), I just can't take them seriously. Like, you know, I mean literally.

OP, the discrimination between "like" and "such as" has been lost, although hearing someone maintain the correct distinction is refreshing.

Or were you referring to something else?

By the way, you do realize that there is no rational connection between your two questions? They represent two case descriptions that do not intersect. One may speak intelligently without speaking correctly, and using vocal tics and habituated pause-words is not an indication of unintelligent speech, even if it is irritating to some.

R78 you've got a lot of grammar and punctuation issues with which to deal.

R76 I speak to everybody who I encounter in the same way. Same level of respect. I speak neither down nor up, it’s a lot easier that way, and much more respectful of the other person.

You’ve probably been raised and educated differently.

I also use “see” quite often. More like an early Peanuts strip character than an old time movie gangster, though.

"Are were you addressing us a ESL fifth graders,"

Lol, in a thread about talking intelligently.

I speak good.

I speak worst than R85.

Is he like, straight? Or is he like, str8 straight?

I have, like, the best words.

NPR on the air---

NPR employee: Soooo, that's like, sorta the crux of the issue, right?

Other NPR Employee: Well yeah, I mean....

NPR Employee: Riiigght? So yeah.

NPR acknowledges their hosts use this kind of crap language and seems to think it’s acceptable. BBC 4 is not so permissive.

R81 is in a thread about language and complains about language when the OP is called out.

R81 is a stupid cunt, self-evidently.

Oh, I see. R81, indeed, is an interloping woman. Smells like someone not working and upset with her life.

I'll just say "typical cunt," then.

My partner is one of the brightest people I know. He's smart as a whip, yet doesn't feel the need to go around using six syllable words that most people have never heard of in order to get his point across. If he thinks something is idiotic or fatuous, he's not afraid to say, "that's dumb." Why? Because saying "that's dumb", gets right to the point and the masses understand what it means. Not everyone wants to hear an arrogant bastard pontificate.

I’m excellent at conversating.

When my nieces and nephew start rambling on about something, my sister always warns them, "you're losing your audience", so they'll be mindful that they need to get to the point. Even if you're rambling on whilst using six syllable words, you're still rambling and people will stop listening.

The original post had nothing to do with six syllable words and everything to do with people who cannot get through the average sentence without leaning upon the verbal crutch of “like” every three or four words.

I'm surprised how many of you hang out with your sisters,nieces and nephews.

Are you sure you're not mothers talking about your own kids in guise of sisters, nieces, and nephews.

^Missing space after comma, missing question mark.

So yeah.

Perfect, r89.

Some speak well, I speak weller.

I remember "Never use a big word when a smaller word has the same meaning." Think of this when I see "Preventative" when they should use "Preventive."

[quote] I'm surprised how many of you hang out with your sisters,nieces and nephews.

I see you’re new here. Welcome.

[quote] I say “uhhhh....” WAY too much.

Hi Governor Cuomo! Welcome to Datalounge!

Big fan here.

[quote] Some speak well, I speak weller.

I got ya beat. I speak well done.

:-P

Like?

Do I use “like”?

I’m like, lost. Doomed

‘We are never getting back together. LIKE. EVER.’

R16 and r19 sound like petty, horrible people

Pure "oh dear" bait for the boys

My everyday speech is perfect. You wouldn't believe how perfect it is.

I'm eleventy years old!

^^^ Only the best words! Which, in my vocabulary, total 25, 30 tops!

I have an uncle who was a professor at MIT & he was a super genius. He taught me all about nuclear. So I understand that kind of stuff. Every doctor is amazed and says “How do you know so much?” I really like this stuff. I get it. Maybe I have a natural ability.

I went to the best colleges for college. I had a situation where I was a very excellent student, came out, made billions and billions of dollars, became one of the top business people, went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success, as you probably have heard.....my critics are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence.......actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart.”

They come to me with tears in their eyes. Big beautiful tears. Grovelling like little bitches. The biggest tears, okay? They say to me. They say, 'Please, sir. Please, Mr. President, sir. Sir, please teach us to talk as good as you, sir. You talk so good, sir. Please, Mr. President, sir'.

[quote] OP get a life

Never!

The misogyny of some posters (born from mothers, one presumes) is something up with which I will not put.

"He taught me all about nuclear. So I understand that kind of stuff"

It is not that complicated. Unless you were a business major.

In my early 20s, I admired people who could throw big words into a conversation. I would try to use big words when speaking and when writing. Now, I have a job that involves helping people get through something that's kind of complicated. Now, I speak in order to communicate (simpler words, shorter sentences, etc.). It's not always "intelligent" sounding.

Yes r118. I often have to retreat from my fifty cent words. I just wish it didn’t have to be such a conscious act.

Person

Woman

Man

Camera

Like, TV

Lol r120