The words we use

Papa Bear has noticed lately that he uses the phrase "You know" a lot when he speaks. He noticed this because he asked Yo Momma to let him know when he was using "you know" in the middle of his sentences as fillers. Yo Momma has been elbowing Papa Bear black and blue (slight exaggeration but you get the point, right?). We had a little discussion about this phrase tonight and Papa Bear walked away while Yo Momma and I kept talking. Papa Bear re-entered the conversation and caught himself saying "you know". It was quite interesting to see what happened. All of a sudden the conversation slowed down as he took time to think about what he was saying.

There are many around me who use the phrase "you know" all the time. It's a part of their vernacular. They can't help themselves. Some, myself included, have caught the "like" habit which is especially lovely when added to the previous as in, "like, you know". We get stuck in our language at times, using words that fill the space while we search for words instead of taking the time to think about what we are saying.

I use phrases, though, that aren't used to fill the space but used to shelter me from other's feelings. "I kind of think" is my personal problem phrase. That phrase in my language means "what I'm about to say next may not be received with you well and though I may feel pretty tied to that thought I'm not willing to argue with you and will act like I agree if you disagree with me after I make this statement." Whew.

Some phrases and words have been around awhile and but are picking up in their usage lately. Personal pet peeve statement of the moment is "blah, blah, blah". An example is "My friend and I went out to dinner the other night at a great restaurant. They had the best food, wine, the waiter was really nice. But blah, blah, blah. You should really go there." Yeah, no. (That was a bad example, sorry.)

Of course there's the always useful filler "um" or "uh". There is a speaker that I hear quite frequently that uses those two words as well as "you know" way to much. I want to scream out at times "Are you listening to yourself??" The answer is quite obvious, they aren't.

The words we use are important. Maybe we should start listening to ourselves more and find out what those words are.