The "Like" Generation
It's a mystery to me how we can spend millions, no billions of dollars on education in this country and still graduate students who cannot speak English.
What am I talking about? The "like" generation.
You know the people I'm mean; twenty-something, mainly women who, for some inexplicable reason intersperse the word LIKE frequently into every conversation.
Don't know what I'm talking about? You must have been on a mission to Venus.
Example: "So I was like talking to my friend, Susie, and she said like, let's hit the mall and I was like well why not? So we did and we like hung for a while until like we saw John and he was like..
..
" and so it goes.
Think I'm exaggerating? I wish.
For I while I thought the "like" girls only hung out in my local beauty salon.
It took me several visits before I could - sort of - understand my hairdresser because basically every other word out of her mouth was..
...
LIKE.
I finally gave up and read a magazine while she did my hair.
Much easier on the ears.
Unfortunately, all the beauticians in that salon speak in the same tongue so I usually leave with a new do, ringing ears and a headache.
Last week I decided to treat myself to a massage.
Everything was wonderful.
The lights were low, the sheets warm, the music was soft and tinkly.
I was almost asleep when I made a near fatal mistake.
I asked my masseuse a simple question.
"How did you happen to get interested in this line of work?" I said.
I think, this was her reply.
"Oh, well when I was like a senior in high school? My like cousin asked me if I knew what I like was gonna do when I graduated? And I like I didn't know so she like said I should like..
..
..
" For some reason the "like" generation poses most sentences as questions.
By the time she'd finished her explanation, my eyes had crossed and my relaxation had gone out the window.
So, what are we to do? Is there a book? A school? A study course that we can take to help us interpret? Hey, I've got a idea.
Why don't we find a better way of teaching English in our schools? Maybe not graduate anyone until he/she can speak complete, correct sentences in English? Is that too much to ask for all those billions of dollars? What do you think?
What am I talking about? The "like" generation.
You know the people I'm mean; twenty-something, mainly women who, for some inexplicable reason intersperse the word LIKE frequently into every conversation.
Don't know what I'm talking about? You must have been on a mission to Venus.
Example: "So I was like talking to my friend, Susie, and she said like, let's hit the mall and I was like well why not? So we did and we like hung for a while until like we saw John and he was like..
..
" and so it goes.
Think I'm exaggerating? I wish.
For I while I thought the "like" girls only hung out in my local beauty salon.
It took me several visits before I could - sort of - understand my hairdresser because basically every other word out of her mouth was..
...
LIKE.
I finally gave up and read a magazine while she did my hair.
Much easier on the ears.
Unfortunately, all the beauticians in that salon speak in the same tongue so I usually leave with a new do, ringing ears and a headache.
Last week I decided to treat myself to a massage.
Everything was wonderful.
The lights were low, the sheets warm, the music was soft and tinkly.
I was almost asleep when I made a near fatal mistake.
I asked my masseuse a simple question.
"How did you happen to get interested in this line of work?" I said.
I think, this was her reply.
"Oh, well when I was like a senior in high school? My like cousin asked me if I knew what I like was gonna do when I graduated? And I like I didn't know so she like said I should like..
..
..
" For some reason the "like" generation poses most sentences as questions.
By the time she'd finished her explanation, my eyes had crossed and my relaxation had gone out the window.
So, what are we to do? Is there a book? A school? A study course that we can take to help us interpret? Hey, I've got a idea.
Why don't we find a better way of teaching English in our schools? Maybe not graduate anyone until he/she can speak complete, correct sentences in English? Is that too much to ask for all those billions of dollars? What do you think?
