Fillers

“I was like… wow!”

As opposed to what? Do you mean you were similar to something that is akin to ‘wow’? How does ‘wow’ appear so that I may make a comparison?

This is unintelligible and yet it seems to be commonly used in everyday conversation both written and spoken.

I understand, and have written a ‘Blog’ on the matter, that languages are dynamic - they change. English has changed considerably since the days of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Bacon, et al. Even the English used by Dickens and Conan Doyle would now be considered archaic.

As a young person I was wont to read stories by great authors. These were people like Edgar Allan Poe, Lovecraft, Verne, H Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, et al.

Most of them were fond of a particular style and syntax. They were also identified, quite often by words that they used regular and frequently. In the case of Edgar Allan Poe it was ‘singular’ and ‘volition’. Both are words that are rarely, if ever, used in modern stories.

Nevertheless, whatever language you choose to write in it must convey a message that is understood by the majority of people that use that language. Surely that would be the point of using language as a means of mass communication.

The idea of using hip-hop dialect to tell a story to the general public will only work with a small number of people in a localised environment. Similarly, the use of abbreviations, common on social media, will not usually work in a novel – even in the dialogue parts, because they will not be generally understood.

The lack of communication on social media is extensive. One woman made a lengthy comment, on one of my posts, which contained no capital letters and no punctuation. None. When I requested that she convert the comment into English, so that it could be understood, she responded with, “Punctuation is for idiots.” 

Oh, dear. Then lack of punctuation is for the cerebrally defunct?

It is for this reason that I have reservations about the use of “I was like…” because it is a waste of words. It means nothing.

Along the same lines I observe that many people are now prefacing their comments, written and verbal, with, “I mean…” This is also without merit. If you tell us what is in your head in intelligible English there is no need to say, “I mean…” because we will know what you mean.

“I was like… you know…” Good grief! Fillers to pad out the conversation – such as it is.

Why use one word when six will do?