Job Discussion Forums

[Deicide]

Thank Zeus I never adopted it...but has anyone else noticed even intelligent persons who are North American native speakers of English use the filler 'like' a thousand times in a conversation...scary!!!!!

[Wild Bill]

No, I haven't. But then again, it might be, like, a west coast thing

[ls650]

I don't think that's much worse than the filler language used in other flavours of English. I used to work with some Melbournites (Melbournians?); my God, every third sentence they spoke started with "I reckon..."

[Deicide]

[gregoryfromcali]

Jordies use it too.

"What were you thinking like?"

Besides haven't we already discussed this on another thread?

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/job/viewtopic.php?t=37891&start=0

[White_Elephant]

[Deicide]

Nevertheless the American usage smacks the most of inarticulation and...you know...

[White_Elephant]

[Deicide]

[White_Elephant]

The United Kingdom does not have a constitutionally defined official language...According to the 2001 census, Welsh is spoken by about 20% of the population of Wales, giving it around 600,000 speakers.... Cornish... Scottish Gaelic... Irish Gaelic...Norman French..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_in_the_United_Kingdom#Other_official_languages


The British Isles are one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the English-speaking world. Significant changes in dialect (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary) may occur within one region. The four major divisions are normally classified as Southern English dialects, Midlands English dialects, and Northern English dialects, and Scottish English and the closely related dialects of Scots and Ulster Scots (varieties of Scots spoken in Ulster). There is also Hiberno-English (English as spoken in Ireland) and the form of English used in Wales. The various English dialects differ in the words they have borrowed from other languages. The Scottish and Northern dialects include many words originally borrowed from Old Norse; the Scottish dialects include words borrowed from Scots and Scottish Gaelic. Hiberno-English includes words derived from Irish.

An important feature of English regional accents is the bundle of isoglosses � geographically running roughly from mid-Shropshire to south of Birmingham and then to The Wash � separating Northern and Southern accents. This reflects the historical Danelaw division, which split England into Viking-controlled and Saxon-controlled areas.

Accents throughout Britain are influenced by the phoneme inventory of regional dialects, and native English speakers can often tell quite precisely where a person comes from"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_in_the_United_Kingdom

"American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. It is estimated that approximately two thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.[1] American English is also sometimes called United States English or U.S. English.

The use of English in the United States has been inherited from British colonization..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_in_the_United_Kingdom

American English is a dialect of the English language just as any of the other dialects of the English language. No need to feel any superiority just because you speak one dialect as opposed to another. There's plenty of finger pointing to go around the world a few times.

[furiousmilksheikali]

I think what Deicide was saying is that the use of "like" is most prevelant in America and it is overuse of "like" which smacks of inarticulation, not necessarily that Amercian English speakers are more inarticulate.

While I agree that those who overuse "like" tend to do so because they are inarticulate I don't believe that it is only Americans that do this. The use has spread to almost every native English-speaking community and is used by inarticulate speakers of every nationality. Previously, inarticulate British English-speakers made use of "y'know" to parade their inarticularity (is that a word?).

Watch almost any interview with a footballer (soccer player for anyone who makes up two-thirds of the native-English speaking world).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olJgM4pnCNo

[White_Elephant]

Don't confuse Valspeak with standard American English

"Valspeak is a common name for the dialect used by valley girls, stereotypical dumb blondes, living in the San Fernando Valley, with rich parents, a superficial social life and a lot of attention for fashion and parties. This stereotype originated in the 1970s, but was at its peak in the 1980s and still popular in the 1990s. Though a fad, many phrases and elements of Valspeak, along with surfer slang and skateboarding slang, have become a permanent part of the California English dialect, and in some cases wider American English (such as the widespread use of "like" as conversational filler)...The dialect can often be distinguished by its intonation, and by its pharyngealisation of certain consonant sounds, particularly the "L" and rhotic "R" sounds occurring in the coda[citation needed]. Pharyngealisation is rare in the English language and its presence here is possibly unique within American English, though it is detectable in similar circumstances in some variants of Irish English and Scottish English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valspeak

"A certain dialect of speech became associated with valley girls which became referred to as "Valspeak," common among teenage females during the 1980s.

Qualifiers such as "like," "way," "totally" and "duh" were interjected in the middle of phrases and sentences as emphasizers. Narrative sentences were often spoken as if they were questions (high rising terminal).

Some of the slang included:

"As - if" (expresses distinct doubt)
"What-Everrrr" (expresses sarcasm & disinterest)
"Barf me out!" ("That's disgusting.")
"Fer shur." ("Certainly.")
"Totally." ("Yes.", "Definitely.", "I agree.", or "Very much.")
"Gag me with a spoon!" ("That's disgusting.")
"Grody to the max!" ("That's disgusting." The word "grody" was already popular in the early 1960s).
"You little rat!" ("You told on me!" Although the word "Rat!" is used often to describe a person, if even not related to context)
"Like, oh my god" (expresses shock). The word "like" is often used alone as a filler. It is sometimes spelled "omigod" or "omigawd"...

The term originally referred specifically to affluent young women living in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California.

The term morphed in the 1980s and 1990s to represent a more widespread and cartoonish stereotype of young women�typically characterized by a "ditzy" or "airheaded" personality, and unapologetically "spoiled" behavior that showed more interest in shopping, personal appearance, and popular social status, rather than in any self-enriching pursuit.

The "Val" is typically blonde-haired, (sometimes dyed) and is sometimes portrayed as hypersexual."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_girl

If you are hanging around such people who use valspeak this is a reflection of you and not a reflection of standard American English. Perhaps you like the ditzy, airheaded blondes...

[Van Norden]

The song 'Cobwebs' by Loudon Wainwright 111 is about the overuse/misuse of like:
"I heard it 4 times in one poor little sentence it was the saddest thing I ever have heard."

[Deicide]

[White_Elephant]