Remember when the Valley-girl "like" infected millions of people's speech patterns? There's another word on the horizon, and I have to finally speak out.
Excellent news observation. I guessed the word rather quickly as I have noticed this trend too. When someone ends a sentence with “right?”, does this mean I am in agreement or just following along? It is a commitment!
This reminds me of that saying, "Sorry About That" It got tiring, and you avoided adding the "that" part. It was more sincere if you just said, "I'm sorry."
Someone interviewing for a job once did that, and I thought, "Is that a verbal tic or an actual strategy for trying to make us think we agree with whatever she says?" This was 7+ years ago, and she did not get the job.
My hunch is its more of a verbal tic, auto reflex sorta thing... even when I hear it now (everywhere) I don't get the feeling it is connected to the speaker's desire to try and wrangle agreement.
Yes, yes, YES!!! And THANK YOU! My goodness, I have two stepdaughters where one has gotten into the habit of saying "like" all the freakin' time, while the other one says BOTH "like" and "right"... Lord, have mercy on me, I am still trying to find the best way of addressing this as gently as possible and asap. They're at the age where they might get somehow offended if I correct them, so I need to find a subtle and nice way to deal with it before I totally loose it. I find myself getting so distracted counting the number of times they are saying these words to the point that I totally miss out on what they are trying to tell me. Good advices will be very much appreciated!
OMGosh, thank you for seeing me, and I, in turn, see you. It's crazy-making. For me, if it's someone I know, I just say, "Hey were you aware that you end a lot of your sentences with the word "right?" and hope for the best ... 🫣
lol... yes, yes it is. And FTR, saying "am I right" would BE AN IMPROVEMENT! It's just the casual, almost unconscious addition of "right" at the end of sentences that kills me.
My wife does this. And I tend to take things literally.
She is basically saying something like “Are you following me?”, “Did you understand what I just said?”, “Stop me if I’m explaining this too fast.”, etc.
I’m hearing “I just said something you’re supposed to have known and I’m repeating it to make sure we’re on the same page before I continue.”
Very frustrating to me. Completely innocuous to her. And having been married for almost 34 years, I had decided to not bring it up. But since she asked what I was reading, I had a chance to say something about it. Thank you!
Next time you want to rant about language, would you please talk about uptalk (upspeak, high rising terminal)? Uptalk is ending a declarative sentence with a rising, question-like pitch. As I said, I tend to take things literally. I hear the rising pitch, and quite unexpectedly, this perfectly ordinary declarative sentence has suddenly become a question I now need to answer.
Excellent news observation. I guessed the word rather quickly as I have noticed this trend too. When someone ends a sentence with “right?”, does this mean I am in agreement or just following along? It is a commitment!
Yes, exactly. Stop assuming I'm agreeing with you and/or know what you're talking about! Lol! Thanks for commiserating with me.
This reminds me of that saying, "Sorry About That" It got tiring, and you avoided adding the "that" part. It was more sincere if you just said, "I'm sorry."
Someone interviewing for a job once did that, and I thought, "Is that a verbal tic or an actual strategy for trying to make us think we agree with whatever she says?" This was 7+ years ago, and she did not get the job.
My hunch is its more of a verbal tic, auto reflex sorta thing... even when I hear it now (everywhere) I don't get the feeling it is connected to the speaker's desire to try and wrangle agreement.
Yes, yes, YES!!! And THANK YOU! My goodness, I have two stepdaughters where one has gotten into the habit of saying "like" all the freakin' time, while the other one says BOTH "like" and "right"... Lord, have mercy on me, I am still trying to find the best way of addressing this as gently as possible and asap. They're at the age where they might get somehow offended if I correct them, so I need to find a subtle and nice way to deal with it before I totally loose it. I find myself getting so distracted counting the number of times they are saying these words to the point that I totally miss out on what they are trying to tell me. Good advices will be very much appreciated!
From a Norwegian with American step children
OMGosh, thank you for seeing me, and I, in turn, see you. It's crazy-making. For me, if it's someone I know, I just say, "Hey were you aware that you end a lot of your sentences with the word "right?" and hope for the best ... 🫣
You will love this: https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-unbearable-rightness-of-professor-speak/
ahhh, fascinating!
Dude... it's like pervasive, am I right?
lol... yes, yes it is. And FTR, saying "am I right" would BE AN IMPROVEMENT! It's just the casual, almost unconscious addition of "right" at the end of sentences that kills me.
From one lonely to another, I was getting a little impatient and annoyed with how long you took to give us the word, but all is well.
And I enjoyed your piece. So I couldn't be annoyed for too terribly long.
Have a great day.
hahah! I know, I apologize for draaaaagging it along... I write a lot of serious stuff, it's fun every once in awhile to have fun :)
I know, right?! 😉
😜
My wife does this. And I tend to take things literally.
She is basically saying something like “Are you following me?”, “Did you understand what I just said?”, “Stop me if I’m explaining this too fast.”, etc.
I’m hearing “I just said something you’re supposed to have known and I’m repeating it to make sure we’re on the same page before I continue.”
Very frustrating to me. Completely innocuous to her. And having been married for almost 34 years, I had decided to not bring it up. But since she asked what I was reading, I had a chance to say something about it. Thank you!
Next time you want to rant about language, would you please talk about uptalk (upspeak, high rising terminal)? Uptalk is ending a declarative sentence with a rising, question-like pitch. As I said, I tend to take things literally. I hear the rising pitch, and quite unexpectedly, this perfectly ordinary declarative sentence has suddenly become a question I now need to answer.