I'm Like, 'Sorry, But I Can't Help You.'

 

Sometimes I feel bad for the Bettys of the world. And by Bettys I mean people like a reader named Betty who wrote to beg me to write a column about how young people use “I’m like.”

Here’s what she wrote:

Dear Madame,

Could you please cover this phrase, "I'm like,"  in your Times Union word column? I can't go anywhere without hearing people use the phrase "I'm like" in their conversations over and over again.  It turns my stomach to think that the English language is going downhill with young people and even some 30s and 40s doing the same.  Is it possible to change this trend?  I would like to see your comments in the Times Union soon.

Betty (a former teacher who is very upset)

 

E-mails like this usually irk me. But for some reason I sort of felt bad for Betty. That bit about her stomach turning over the how the English language is going downhill. ... Where do you begin? 

I told her, of course, that I can't help her. My job is to talk about rules and syntax and dictionary definitions – not to tell people what choices they should make in casual speech.

 I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I probably use this expression, too. (I’m not sure, actually. I don’t pay such close attention to my own speech in informal contexts. But I bet that if I did I’d notice I use “I’m like” and “I was like” a lot.)

 

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