What I don’t like about like

To the Editor:

It was interesting to read Amanda Gutterman’s article on the use of the word ‘like’ (“Should we, like, like like,” Jan. 25). While I appreciate Ms. Gutterman’s explanation of how this verbal tic became part of everyday speech for many, to me the constant use of the word “like” sounds like a pause to get one’s disjointed thinking to congeal. To argue that language changes over time is unconvincing in this case. A more realistic reflection would indicate this as yet another chapter in the dumbing down of Americans. However, at some point it will become advisable to overcome the “addiction” to the word “like.” Based on my 47 years of experience working in industrial research, I am rather certain that this form of halting and affected language will not serve a prospective employee well in terms of being taken seriously in the adult workplace.

Robert J. von Gutfeld, Ph.D.
Adjunct senior research scientist
Columbia University
GSAS ’57