Do People Who Oversay The Word

Why do a lot of people overuse the word 'like' in their sentences? For example, “I'm gonna, like, go to the mall today to buy some, like, shoes and shirts”.

Words like “like” become filler words, as another answer noted, but the over use of these words shows a person is trying to process what they want to say, not a lack of intelligence.To give an example, I had a professor in one of my philosophy classes who stuttered and used filler words when he was answering questions from students. During his lectures he would sometimes do the same thing. But his reading voice was amazing, with perfect cadence, great use of pitch, and generally just a pleasure to listen to. The difference between the two situations was stark.Once day, talking with a friend of mine, she pointed out, “Charlton, I've figured out the problem with Dr. C!” (Name omitted intentionally.)I said, “Okay, Amanda (name not omitted because you'll never know which Amanda in taking about) let's hear it.”Her observation got me thinking in a way I previously hadn't. She said, “He's so smart that his mouth can't keep up with his mind. By the time he begins to talk, he's already thought of the next several things he wants to say and trips over himself.”Filler words are often used when someone is trying to figure out the structure of what they want to say, or when they are trying to remember exactly what they want to say. Old poems, from ancient sources before literacy was more common, tend to have a significant amount of filler words. Even whole phrases are used to allow the teller time to think, to remember the story or change it depending on the crowd. Examples would be phrases like, “Over the seas they sailed, buffeted by waves and beset by storms, ’til at last they came to…” Notice how the first phrase adds nothing to the story, it's a filler.Filler words exist in a variety of forms. Most people end up using them reflexively. The speaker probably doesn't even realize they said “like” multiple times. A gentle correction (if you're close) can help someone correct this. But, when they are excited they will probably slip back into the same routine.

Why do people use the word "like" as a filler word? How did it spread so quickly when it makes us sound so unintelligent?

It's a verbal tic, spread virally (so to speak) through speech. It's also a signifier of age and a certain demographic.When I was in my teens and early 20s, I, like, said "like" a lot. It wasn't because I was unintelligent. It was because that's how most young people my age talked. I could turn it off if I wanted, especially when I was around older people or others who did not have this verbal tic, but as soon as I was around others in my peer group, the "likes" started cropping up in my speech.I like to think I didn't use "like" as much as some people, but I did use it; to some extent, on purpose. It was a patois that was expected. If I didn't use it at all, I might have come across as affected or hoity-toity among those in my peer group -- who, after all, were generally the people I most wanted to impress and emulate. (That's a sign of social intelligence, by the way.)These days, I still display verbal tics in speech. Most people do. I might say, "you know" or "okay" or "um" rather than "like" because people my age DO NOT speak like that as a matter of course.If you were to transcribe anyone's casual speech, chances are you'll hear many tics like this. "Like" has a bad reputation, in my opinion, because it's associated with white, middle-class teens and young adults (who are often assumed to be vapid and unintelligent.) "You know what I'm sayin?'" is another verbal tic that's negatively associated with an underclass. "Yo" would also fall into this category.Then there is "super" (super nice, super boring, super happy) as an adjective; something that's arguably just as annoying to certain ears. Or "actually," which is another word commonly inserted into speech for no reason, and has been associated with mansplainers of late.I'm sure there are similar verbal tics in all other languages. I realize "like" might seem annoying, but those kids are going to grow out of it. Like I did.

Why do people misuse the word “literally” so often?

I love this question because it's so very relatable. It seems like people literally use it every chance they get. And look, that last sentence didn't even sound off. We're used to it. But why is it so overused? I blame the English language. No, seriously. Or at least the one we native speakers are used to. There just isn't a word that says I'm not joking, this is actually what happened so well. Even the phrase "I'm not shitting you" just doesn't pack as much umph as literally. When we look at the common usage of the word we realize that it's used to express something without exaggeration or inaccuracy. The word itself is supposed to do our job for us as the speaker, and remove inaccuracy or unintended exaggeration from our sentence. Who wouldn't want that? It literally says "trust me on this, I'm not even exaggerating or anything". But this isn't always the case. Sometimes we exaggerate on purpose, shouldn't then we remove literally completely from our sentences? Of course sometimes we use it too much, and sometimes we misuse it. This doesn't mean we need to chastise those who misuse it. Sometimes it can be used incorrectly but also make sense. As an example, the rapper Dan Bull has a line in his Skyrim Rap[1] where he says "I don't just spit flames lyrically but literally" and that just blows me out of the water. There's a common expression that when someone's rap is good, it's called fire. The act of spitting flames is basically rapping really well. On top of that, the dragonborn has the ability to breathe fire. He doesn't just spit flames lyrically, but actual literal fire. But of course he doesn't actually, he's a mere human playing Skyrim. He doesn't literally spit flames. But this misuse of literally works wonders. It works so well that people misuse it over and over, trying to retain that same wonderful effect. And like virtually everything else in English, the more people who use it the more people who want to use it. P.S.I was watching something the other day, I can't entirely remember what, but this man used figuratively where most people would use literally. Of course this is correct, but the fact that it was correct and not the overused literally made me bust out laughing. It sounded false because most people would use literally, but it was correct. It was obviously intentional and I couldn't get over how awesome it was. Footnotes[1] SKYRIM EPIC RAP - Dan Bull