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"In the mid-1980s, American English was overwhelmed by a linguistic mutation that transferred the burden of verbal communication from speaker to listener. Because it sidestepped the need for vocabulary and clarity, and because its shapeless syntax shielded speakers from the risk of saying something insensitive or incorrect, this new mode of expression won rapid acceptance, jumping from campus jargon to national discourse with astonishing speed. It was, like, you know, like, whoa. I mean, I'm like omigod! It was, hello, you know, totally amazing, and stuff."
The effects of this trend upon an entire generation (or three) could be devastating. It really spells the end of effective communication between people who aren't close enough to complete one another's sentences. Shouldn't parents be more concerned about this?
Short answer, no. In raising three kids to college age, and having lots of encounters with their friends, I met exactly one girl who adopted the type of speech you are referencing. It drove me crazy, and I honestly couldn't stand to listen to her. She had two highly educated parents, who chose to think of it as a phase that she would outgrow. And, she did, sometime during her high school years. It's a silly affectation that seems to fade as kids mature. I have never heard anybody talk like that in the business world beyond minimum wage cashiers at the grocery store.
Remember groovy, radical, etc? Very prevalent years ago, but gone from most vocabularies now. This too shall pass. I'm more concerned about people who cannot spell properly, and are lost without spell-check. For that I blame the school of thought that came up with inventive spelling to encourage expression in the younger grades.
"In the mid-1980s, American English was overwhelmed by a linguistic mutation that transferred the burden of verbal communication from speaker to listener. Because it sidestepped the need for vocabulary and clarity, and because its shapeless syntax shielded speakers from the risk of saying something insensitive or incorrect, this new mode of expression won rapid acceptance, jumping from campus jargon to national discourse with astonishing speed. It was, like, you know, like, whoa. I mean, I'm like omigod! It was, hello, you know, totally amazing, and stuff."
The effects of this trend upon an entire generation (or three) could be devastating. It really spells the end of effective communication between people who aren't close enough to complete one another's sentences. Shouldn't parents be more concerned about this?
Jargon has been around for a long time but people usually know when (and when not) to use it.
I guess your fear as that kids will soon be reading graphic novels for school and texting their book reports: "OMG! WOW!"?
Back in the day, the cavemen spoke in grunts and communicated via cave paintings....
Dude. As a parental unit I'm totally on to the mordification and suckification of the morphological process of our little dudes and dudettes. Linguistically it totally blows because it's crystal the homographs will destroy Western society. Our only hope is fixed collocation because the free morphemes are taking over our society. Obviously a plot by the Ivy League flunk-outs to destroy linguists and replace them all with potters.
Dude. As a parental unit I'm totally on to the mordification and suckification of the morphological process of our little dudes and dudettes. Linguistically it totally blows because it's crystal the homographs will destroy Western society. Our only hope is fixed collocation because the free morphemes are taking over our society. Obviously a plot by the Ivy League flunk-outs to destroy linguists and replace them all with potters.
Dude. As a parental unit I'm totally on to the mordification and suckification of the morphological process of our little dudes and dudettes. Linguistically it totally blows because it's crystal the homographs will destroy Western society. Our only hope is fixed collocation because the free morphemes are taking over our society. Obviously a plot by the Ivy League flunk-outs to destroy linguists and replace them all with potters.
Dude. As a parental unit I'm totally on to the mordification and suckification of the morphological process of our little dudes and dudettes. Linguistically it totally blows because it's crystal the homographs will destroy Western society. Our only hope is fixed collocation because the free morphemes are taking over our society. Obviously a plot by the Ivy League flunk-outs to destroy linguists and replace them all with potters.
Dude. As a parental unit I'm totally on to the mordification and suckification of the morphological process of our little dudes and dudettes. Linguistically it totally blows because it's crystal the homographs will destroy Western society. Our only hope is fixed collocation because the free morphemes are taking over our society. Obviously a plot by the Ivy League flunk-outs to destroy linguists and replace them all with potters.
I like, grok.
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