Banco From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2001, 14752 posts, RR: 55 Posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 1057 times:
From BBC.com
An athlete who used the phrase "you know" 30 times in a 135-second interview has helped win a scholarship for a middle school pupil in the United States.
Each year, a scholarship funded by a retired United States air force officer gives $1,000 to the pupil in Nebraska who can find the worst example of over-use of "you know".
This year's "You Know Contest" has been won by Evan Koontz, a pupil at Lincoln Pound Middle School - with a hit rate of one "you know" every 4.5 seconds.
He becomes the sixth recipient of a prize funded by Barney Oldfield, a 92-year-old veteran of the Second World War, who wants to highlight the way that the phrase is filling the airwaves.
"You know", stuck at the beginning and end of sentences, and as a pause in the middle, has been attacked for being part of teenagers' "mall speak".
Previous winners have included 13 year old Molly Kamrath who in 2000 surpassed 50 other entries with a recording of an interview which had 21 "you knows" in four minutes.
"To get 21 'you knows' in four minutes is stark testimony about how dreadfully littered we have made our beautiful English language. It deserves better treatment," wrote Mr Oldfield.
In 1999, Jessica Reinsch won the $1,000 prize with a recording of a radio interview featuring 61 examples of "you know" in 15 minutes.
Mr Oldfield has been making educational donations for many years and has given scholarships worth $3m.
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The man's a star! This dreadful phrase pervades the entire English speaking world. Maybe we should introduce the idea in the UK as well.
She's as nervous as a very small nun at a penguin shoot.
Racko From Germany, joined Nov 2001, 4838 posts, RR: 21 Reply 3, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 948 times:
You know, that's also a problem in other languages. In Germany we once had a guy on TV who used the word "so" something like 80 times in one and a half minute. Afterwards he was only called the "So-Mann", you know?
David_itl From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2001, 7144 posts, RR: 14 Reply 4, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 947 times:
Eal401
I know how you feel...a certain Banco spolit my fun on one of Thom@s' threads! You know, things like that always happen, you know, and so you've got to be quick off the mark, you know.
Fordlover From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 194 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 937 times:
Basically, it's a matter of basically being in a mood to upset those who are basically intolerant of others use of the language. That's basically it.
Skyway1 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 8, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 933 times:
I always cringe when people say "ummm" between every word! Usually nobody notices it, but when I pay attention it drives me nuts. Like umm airliners.net umm is a umm wonderful place umm.
Airsicknessbag From Germany, joined Aug 2000, 4723 posts, RR: 38 Reply 9, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 924 times:
The German speakers will appreaciate this more than the rest, but, sorry to you non-German speakers, that´s just too funny to not post in this thread:
I know a guy who uses "im Grunde genommen" very often. Well, basically it´s the German equivalent of, err, basically, you know ?
Anyway, he uses it so often, it´s degenerated into a "grunnomm".
Fordlover From United States of America, joined Sep 2001, 194 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 921 times:
I didn't meen to upset, just to clarify. I wanted to be the first to jump on that, and I didn't have time to look up the "sarcastic" smiley! (I can never remember those) So, umm, basically, here it is, you know.
JetService From United States of America, joined Feb 2000, 4798 posts, RR: 13 Reply 13, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 914 times:
That's a classic symptom of poor speaking quality. I actually have this problem myself. I tend to put 'ahhhh' in words. Its something people should work on if they want to succeed to areas that require articulate speaking. It's funny, but can be a real downfall.
Banco From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2001, 14752 posts, RR: 55 Reply 14, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days 2 hours ago) and read 911 times:
Actually! My God, that's another one.
Let me get this straight:
You can actually, sort of, basically, you know, construct a sentence, kind of thing, where you um, you know, use twice as many, um, you know, words as you need to, sort of thing, you know?
She's as nervous as a very small nun at a penguin shoot.
EGGD From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2001, 12426 posts, RR: 41 Reply 15, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 3 days ago) and read 886 times:
There are alot of words people put in sentences, maybe because they find their language boring? At the moment the main phrases here are 'blatently' and 'innit'. These appear numerous times in the sentance of an average 'ard 'nut.
I noticed that Canadians use 'For sure' at the end of the sentence a hell of alot, hardly ever hear it spoken here!
NKP S2 From United States of America, joined Dec 1999, 1714 posts, RR: 6 Reply 16, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 871 times:
"I'll be honest with you" ( or "ya" instead of "you" ) seems to pepper so many conversations as well. I've heard some people preface so much of what they say with this declaration that I wonder if they are BS-ing me whenever they _don't_ say it. -- ( Rant mode on ) And while I'm still on the soapbox, can we please retire the use of "sssweeeet!" as an adjcetive to describe something we like? Especially on the internet? Let this obnoxiously trendy late-90's word abdicate. Even the hackneyed "cool" sounds better. ( Rant mode off )
Dc3Cowboy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 17, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 859 times:
The word "problem" has been replaced with "issue". If anything goes wrong it is now an "issue", and, I'll be honest with you, basically, umm, I have a problem dealing with that issue, you know?
Seb146 From United States of America, joined Nov 1999, 9799 posts, RR: 17 Reply 18, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 2 days 21 hours ago) and read 825 times:
Ya know, since you said, ya know, not to say it, I will, ya know, NEED to say it, ya know, like, ya know, all day, ya know?
CVG777 From United States of America, joined May 2000, 1251 posts, RR: 6 Reply 22, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 765 times:
You know, basically, that this guy is, you know, basically trying to get people to stop saying "you know," you know, the phrase that you know basically everybody says when they, you know, basically expect that you know what they know, you know, like when they are, you know, trying to get basically, well, you now, their point across. You know its basically like that.
You know, after writing basically so many times, it make the word look, well, you know, funny.
Lax From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 2290 posts, RR: 3 Reply 23, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 2 days 9 hours ago) and read 723 times:
You think "ya know" is bad!?
I'm so tired of hearing the word "anti-inflammatory" used recklessly!! Must have heard it 25 times today....just as a filler! Amazing!
EWRvirgin From United States of America, joined May 2001, 358 posts, RR: 2 Reply 24, posted (11 years 2 months 1 week 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 716 times:
Since we're discussing the corruption of the English language, can someone explain to me what is meant when someone starts a conversation with "Not for nothing but..." or "irregardless"?
25 Banco: 777kicksass, I don't think this problem is confined to the US by any means. It appears it isn't even confined to the one language! As others have poin
26 Thom@s: What thread? You know, but i don't. Thom@s
27 QANTASforever: I absolutely HATE!!!!!!!!!!!! the phrase/word(s) (god knows what it is) "WAAAAZZAAAAAAAPP!". And being in Australia there are a few other which should
28 Lax: How about ...... "How ya doin'?" That commercial about "how ya doin'" is pretty funny though.........
29 Scotty: Well obviously, the one word football managers use more than any other is obviously, well obviously and guys like Dave Bassett and obviously Terry Ven
30 Lax: The one phrase I get a kick out of when listening to sports broadcasters is ..... "Complete Package". "Ya gotta admit, Bob, that that Derek Jeter is t
31 Gumah: These patterns of overusing a certain phrase or word is known as a "speech tick". In my prior training profession, I would get up in front of a room t
32 Sebolino: In France, we have some people inserting "comment dire ?" everywhere. It means: "How could I say ?". That's very irritating !
33 Lax: How about when you hear "like" in front of everything?
34 Mr AirNZ: People that really annoy me are the ones who use "and um" at the start of every sentence!
35 LHMark: All things being equal, I think this illustrates how the English language can be used, irregardless of context, as a paradigm of communication. I thin
36 Cedarjet: I hate: "At the end of the day." Fuck off!
37 Lax: LH Mark provided us with .......... >>All things being equal, I think this illustrates how the English language can be used, irregardless of context,
38 Lubcha132: you know and like are like bringing down the english language, you know?
39 TurbineBeaver: You know, that was like such an interesting, like article, you know? That is like so, like cool that the you know, Air Force Officer like you know, gi
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