I've complained many times to family and friends about the way many younger people (women, in particular) talk lately. Overuse of the word "like" in sentences is particularly annoying. "I, like, went to Macy's and, like, saw this dress that I wanted to buy and, like, it was so, like expensive." You get the picture. My eyes glaze over when I have to overhear this kind of conversation and I feel like I'm losing brain cells just exposing myself to this kind of ridiculousness. Yes, I use "like" also so I'm not above the criticism, but I really try to curb my use of the word. But, even more annoying than someone using "like" too much is someone who is an uptalker. The uptalker phrases statements as questions. The uptalker cannot be declarative. The uptalker seems to be asking rather than telling. What do I mean? I mean someone saying something as simple as, "I went to the store" but turning this harmless statement into a question by putting a flourish on the last word of the sentence so that it comes out as, "I went to the store?" Are you asking or telling?
I notice many young women (usually the same ones who overuse "like") are also guilty of being uptalkers. Where did these verbal ticks come from and when will the trend come to an end? I know the whole valley girl thing from the 80s is at the root of the problem, but many of the young women I hear talking this way weren't even born (or were infants) in the 80s. They didn't even grow up with the whole valley girl thing. I guess it just comes from being a product of your environment. You grow up around people who speak the same way and you all end up talking the same way and using the same expressions.
My hope is that these young folks grow out of overusing "like" and uptalking. No one wants to hear a 35 or 40-year-old talking like a suburban teenager (unless it's being done ironically).
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