# Do other languages have the equivalent of abusing "like" in every sentence? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336 "2009-05-13T20:23:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/61 "2009-05-18T16:17:49Z")
I’m pretty sure I’ve used ‘went’ in that sense, so it’s not always present tense. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/62 "2009-05-18T17:01:04Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody has mentioned the use of “go” instead of “said.” Always used in the present tense. They do this stuff in other languages, too. In Bulgarian, people use the word “vika”, which actually means “yell” in this same way. I think it sounds bizarre (“he yells come here and I yell I’m busy and he yells this is really important”) and never use it. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/63 "2009-05-18T17:48:02Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > “O sea” pulled together into a very nasal word is used very much by Spanish “pijos” (think Julio Iglesias’ children). It’s the one used by translators when dealing with Valley Girl speak. The Spanish versions of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Gossip Girl or 90210 have people oseaing all over the place, o sea, ¿no? > > My mother will sometimes fall into throwing “¿no?” at the end of every sentence: “so I was with Rita, no? and she tells me we should go to the square, no?” “I hope yes, Mom” “uh?” “you’re the one telling the story, stop asking ‘no’” “doh! :smack:” Hah! I had forgotten about that terrible combination of “o sea” and “no?”. Every time someone used “o sea, no?” I would ask which one, the Pacific or the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/64 "2009-05-18T17:58:50Z")
Yes, let’s pit the misuse of “like” and “you know” in any language. I often hear people say something like “I have like, a dog,” to which I usually respond, “‘Like’ a dog? What’s _like_ a dog? A cat?” And I appear to be acutely aware of, like, the number of “younos” used by a speaker. It’s not so bad in ordinary conversation, but to hear a speaker, like, do it, you know, like it’s annoying. And if you like, point out how many times they said, like “you know,” they look at you blankly and are like, totally unaware of it. Y’know? ---
**Author:** ![Real\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Real\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Real_Red)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/65 "2009-05-18T18:19:44Z")
In Western Austria the word “oda” is peppered in every speech. It actually means “or?” so the speaker sort of means “you get it?” or “you understand what I mean?” Also often used is “oft” the meaning actullay in plain German is “often” but it is used as “then” within the sentence. With the already harsh spoken dialect, it sounds more like amchinegun fire than a conversation. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/66 "2009-05-18T21:50:59Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > In Montreal, at least, the use of the filler “genre” is currently pretty popular among young French speakers. It means “type” or “kind” (of something), so it’s very close to the English “like” filler. Another Montrealism I’ve encountered is Francophones using, “Lo,” (or, “le,” I honestly don’t know which) when speaking English. “I went to the bank, lo, and ran into Monique there, lo. She had gone to the store, lo, and then we had dinner, lo.” So, I guess you’d call that a filler word for Franglais? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/67 "2009-05-18T21:55:50Z")
Data point: I see “actually” becoming the new “like”. Lately I’m hearing it preface practically every declaratory sentence within a certain age/gender demographic. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/68 "2009-05-18T22:06:08Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > “O sea” is also extremely common in Venezuela and I think I have also heard it a lot from Spaniards. Also in Colombia. > [@Sapo](#): > > Also “ves?” (you see?), “verdad?” (right?) and “ok” which gets double bad points for being not only a “muletilla” (a crutch word, which is what they often call filler words in Spanish) but also an Anglicism. But these aren’t fillers. They serve the purpose that tag questions serve in English. They’re requests for attention. ---
**Author:** ![Fastidiots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@Fastidiots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fastidiots)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/69 "2009-05-18T23:10:48Z")
I was born in Australia and raised in Canada. I went back to Aus to visit after I graduated from high school, and several people commented on how naturally I used Aussie slang with a Canadian accent. “Mate” “yeah well” were pretty common. I used “bloody well” too much. “And then he nabbed me bloody-well bikkie right out’ve me hand! Bloody mungrel dog.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/70 "2009-05-19T00:29:36Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > In French French, _là_ is also used frequently, but it’s usage isn’t quite as extreme as the Canadian _lâ_ The only analogue I can think of in French French is “euhhh” which isn’t a word at all; it’s more like “um”, really. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/71 "2009-05-19T04:35:34Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > In Texas, back in the 1950s, I had several Tex-Mex buddies who threw the word “esse” around as if it were a baseball. I sometimes thought I head entire sentences wherein the only word used was “esse;” the only thing that changed was the tone of the speaker’s voice. If those buddies of mine wanted me to understand Spanish, they had to speak using about a minute between each word to give me time to sort through my mental dictionary. Most of the time, they simply gave me a synopsis. I am still unsure of the exact meaning of “esse.” “Ese” is not a filler word in the way that “like” is. “Ese” is the Mexican equivalent of “dude,” so they were addressing each other, not peppering their speech with fillers. (Although I guess you could argue that if you use any word too often it becomes filler.) ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/72 "2009-05-19T05:44:48Z")
> [@sjc](#): > > There’s also a sort of mirror of ‘innit’, ‘izzit’? In my (quite limited) exposure to Londoners in their natural habitat, I heard ‘innit’ a lot and ‘izzit’ once or twice. > > If I recall correctly, ‘innit’ is used a bit like ‘y’know’, and ‘izzit’ was a bit like ‘really?’ or ‘oh yeah?’ P. G. Wodehouse uses some really great turn-of-the-century Upper Class British fillers in his novels: “Thingummy” “what!” at the end of a declarative “whats-it-called” Also, in the novel Confederacy of Dunces, the character Burma Jones (1960’s, African American, New Orleans) uses “Whoa!” a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/73 "2009-05-19T05:52:19Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Yes, let’s pit the misuse of “like” and “you know” in any language. How about, since this is GQ, I point out that fillers aren’t really a “misuse” of the language. Using lots of fillers may be stylistically poor, but it’s not really “incorrect.” > [@](#): > > I often hear people say something like “I have like, a dog,” to which I usually respond, “‘Like’ a dog? What’s _like_ a dog? A cat?” > > And I appear to be acutely aware of, like, the number of “younos” used by a speaker. It’s not so bad in ordinary conversation, but to hear a speaker, like, do it, you know, like it’s annoying. > > And if you like, point out how many times they said, like “you know,” they look at you blankly and are like, totally unaware of it. Y’know? Of course they are unaware of it. That’s what makes them filler words. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/74 "2009-05-19T06:09:41Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > Hah! I had forgotten about that terrible combination of “o sea” and “no?”. Every time someone used “o sea, no?” I would ask which one, the Pacific or the Atlantic. Next time I work with someone from Las Rozas I am SOOOOOOO stealing that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/75 "2009-05-19T11:27:33Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > P. G. Wodehouse uses some really great turn-of-the-century Upper Class British fillers in his novels: > > “Thingummy” > “what!” at the end of a declarative > “whats-it-called” I believe that Bertie Wooster’s slang was largely picked up from then-current American slang. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/76 "2009-05-19T15:27:38Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > The Dutch can use “toch” (lit. “nevertheless”) to distraction at times, using it in ways that robs it of any meaning so it becomes either a filler or a slight amplifier. “Dat wist ik toch niet” (I didn’t know that" ) > But it’s used differently - “like” is often followed by a small pause, like a placeholder. “Toch” typically isn’t. Toch has many meanings, but ‘Nevertheless’ is not one of them. Also, it is not like ‘like’ in that is not a filler but it actually modifies the sentence in ways that are quite significant. ‘Dat wist ik niet’ means ‘I didn’t know that’, neutrally, while ‘Dat wist ik toch niet’ can mean, depending on the stress in the sentence, ‘I didn’t know that after all’ or ‘I didn’t know that, how the hell could I have!’, in a sort of reproachful way. There is something in Dutch that would qualify as a filler, which is ‘zeg maar’, meaning something like ‘say’, as in, ‘I was, say, twenty years old when I, like, met him in a, let’s see, well, a bar’ (Ik was zeg maar twintig jaar oud toen ik hem zeg maar ontmoette in zeg maar een café). This is not uncommon among younger Dutch people - it’s been pointed out to me before and now I notice it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/77 "2009-05-19T15:57:22Z")
Švejk just reminded me of one in Czech - prostě, “simply” or “just,” frequently offset with ty vole or vole, “you ox” or “ox.” Ty vole is used sort of like we would say “man” or “dude,” but with humorously insulting overtones. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/78 "2009-05-19T16:05:49Z")
And, of course, there’s ‘asi’ in Czech, which means something like probably or ‘around’ but which is used all the time. We had a newspaper clipping saying ‘Japanese princess is asi pregnant’ on our fridge for the longest time. ---
**Author:** ![OleG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ebca7d/32.png) [@OleG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OleG)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/79 "2009-05-20T10:25:54Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > One of the filler words in Norwegian is _altså_, which at one point got modified in youth speech to _esse._ These days you’ll only hear the latter used sarcastically, but _altså_ is still going strong. I hear a lot of _liksom_, _som_, _skjønner du_ (“you understand”), and just plain _og_ (“and”), too. I want to add a few I think are not true fillers: “ikke sant?” or “sant” added to the end of every sentence, right? My guess this came from the French expression “n’est-ce pas?”. Norwegians using it as “true”, “right” or “wrong”. In the area I am from we use the word “javel”, often as a question. “Javel?” could mean anything from “ok?”, via “how are you?” and “what are you doing?” to “is that really true?” and “did you really mean that?”. “javel” can also be an affirmation: “Javel, då gjør me d sånn!” meaning “OK, we’ll do it that way!” We have also been affected by the horrible pop-culture phenomenon of adding “not” to the end of every sentence. Though it has mostly disappeared again by now. Terrible thing though - many people younger than 30 years are starting to use “like” when they speak english. It sounds awful when English are spoken with the intonation of some Norwegian dialects, worse when “like” poisons the language. From Norway - Ole ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336/80 "2009-05-20T15:13:59Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > “Thingummy” > … > “whats-it-called” Aren´t these terms actually place holders, rather than fillers? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-languages-have-the-equivalent-of-abusing-like-in-every-sentence/496336.md?page=5)