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joelove
Joined: 12 May 2011
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 4:10 pm Post subject: How often do people say "like" ? |
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Been back in Canada for a while. I think about one out of ten words or so used by most people speaking English is "like". I sort of had forgot about this living abroad. Maybe it's mostly younger people. I can't help but notice it sometimes. I guess we all feel other people's conversations can seem a bit irritating or inane at times. I wonder when foreigners come over whose English is not so good, if they think, "why the hell does everybody say 'like' all the time?" For about ten percent of everything you say to be this one word probably seems odd. I thought "the" was the most common word, but in everyday informal speaking maybe "like" is challenging it. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010 Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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You know, as much as I hate to admit it, I say 'you know' way too much. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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I like to make people believe I am in a rap group by adding "You know what I'm saying" to almost every sentence. |
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highstreet
Joined: 13 Nov 2010
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 1:27 am Post subject: |
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Like way too much, you know what I mean? |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010 Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:32 am Post subject: |
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highstreet wrote: |
Like way too much, you know what I mean? |
I prefer 'you feel me?' to 'you know what aye mean'. |
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The Cosmic Hum
Joined: 09 May 2003 Location: Sonic Space
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:57 am Post subject: |
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Died By Bear wrote: |
highstreet wrote: |
Like way too much, you know what I mean? |
I prefer 'you feel me?' to 'you know what aye mean'. |
Yeah...I feel you on that one.
But like...what does anything mean...really?
...what does this mean? (1:15)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI |
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Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010 Location: Jeollanam-do
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 6:39 am Post subject: |
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A good thing about living here is that (I think) I've broken bad habits like this. The vast majority of the time I'm speaking now is either in class, or with co-workers. When I'm speaking English with co-workers I'm already thinking before I speak to make sure I say what I want in the simplest possible way, and also to make sure I don't say anything negative about Korea. That's pretty frustrating at times, but good too. A sort of linguistic austerity. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010 Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:21 am Post subject: |
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The Cosmic Hum wrote: |
Died By Bear wrote: |
highstreet wrote: |
Like way too much, you know what I mean? |
I prefer 'you feel me?' to 'you know what aye mean'. |
Yeah...I feel you on that one.
But like...what does anything mean...really?
...what does this mean? (1:15)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI |
It means the marijuana he's been smoking will be blessed with the spirit of the bear. |
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roguefishfood
Joined: 21 May 2011
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 5:54 pm Post subject: |
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I confess... I say "like" too much.
I do think harder about it now that I speak to so many ESL learners though! |
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PigeonFart
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Isn't there that steretype about the Southern California Valley girls saying 'like' every 5 seconds? I believe that's where it originated.
I've heard a few (not many in fairness), of our nasal colonial friends take it to the extreme while overhearing conversations in public. It seems to be women who have that tendancy, more so than men. Would that be a fair assertion? |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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Squire wrote: |
A sort of linguistic austerity. |
Heh. Nice way to put it.
-----
As far as the topic goes, an old university friend of mine had a problem with saying "basically." Stuff like:
"So basically, you've got to look at what's basically going on, and then you do what you need to do, basically." |
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tanklor1
Joined: 13 Jun 2006
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 3:36 am Post subject: |
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Like, a lot. |
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joelove
Joined: 12 May 2011
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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This thread idea just came to me the other day after riding a bus twice. Each ride was about 15 minutes. Each time I was next to 2 young people (late teen and early 20s) who were talking the entire time. I'm pretty sure no more than 5 to 10 seconds ever passed without a "like" and I guarantee it was at least one of out ten words used by both pairs. But I hear it all the time, more so by people under 30.
Last edited by joelove on Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Dodge7
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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"Like" is used so often by people who are unsure of themselves. Confident people will explain what they are thinking and are sure of their feelings instead of likening it to something else. |
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