Filler Words

Okay, I am going to sound like an old lady here, but as we used to say at Smith Barney back in the day, ‘I did it the old-fashioned way, I earned it.’

There is a trend in current speech patterns that I find really, really irritating. And I have a right to that irritation. I was an English Major and a Speech Minor in college, so speech patterns matter to me. Here is the old lady part. The thing that bugs me is young Americans’ use of ‘filler’ words. These are the words that are often plugged in when the speaker is making a pause or stopping to think for a second. And these filler words are not just littering everyday conversation; they are used by young professionals being interviewed on national platforms about their area of expertise. I hear them on NPR! Please, can you stop!

Here’s a sample. ‘Um, it was like a really good project, and you know, I sort of learned a lot. I kind of got better at my job.’

Um Like You know Sort of Kind of

Look, I mean, can’t people be original, choose words with meaning? Oh no, there’s two more! It’s driving me crazy because this virus is contagious. Can we all please just stop speaking for a second and take the damn pause?

There, I’ve had my rant. Now I feel better, sort of.