Like, you know, work on grammar

By Chris Kelly

Ladies and gentlemen, it's the year 2010. Over the last decade we have witnessed the use of, and have perhaps used ourselves, certain fad rhetoric in everyday conversations. For better or worse, words like "hella," "bomb" and "tight" have risen to and fallen from the pedestal of popularity. It's comforting to know that we will continue to invent new words that can properly express any sort of emotion, whether it be ludicrous or of great importance. One detrimental word, however, shows no sign of leaving anytime soon.

This word is a stutter word, a word inserted subconsciously, a word that single-handedly devalues our public speaking skills. The word to which I am referring to is the infamous "like."

There is no other word in the English language that makes us appear more confused, unprepared and unintelligent than the word "like." In its proper context, "like" is an extremely valuable tool to express similarity and comparison. However, rarely do we use this word correctly, especially as a preposition. How often do we hear, "and I was like, I know?" We all know that this sentence, when written on paper makes little sense. Yet we use it frequently in everyday speech, knowing that it makes us sound stupid.

Originally, we associated the common usage of this word with big-breasted, blonde Southern Californian women, but now its dominant presence is undoubtedly felt from coast to coast. Different from "bomb" and other similar words, "likes" popularity among the high school and college ranks is growing as fast as the influence of awful European techno on American pop-culture, or the Italian American community's hatred of the MTV reality show "Jersey Shore."

I cannot imagine what some professors keep to themselves while their students rattle off sentences riddled with misplaced and misused "likes", or how many job interviews have gone awry because interviewees give the impression that they never passed 10th grade English. To the intelligent ear, the repetitive use of like is as annoying as a sharp lisp or habitual laugh.

I understand that over half of January has passed, but it's not too late to add another New Year's resolution. It's something I have put off for years, but as it becomes more noticeable, even in the most academic of environments, it must be confronted.

My advice: stop using it. You will sound clearer, smarter and more confident. "Like" will not bring about the end of the world or anything too drastic, but I do believe it's one of the negative characteristics that represents our generation, a generation that understands the intricacies of complex computer systems but fails to understand the basic laws of grammar.

Chris Kelly is a senior English major.