In Search Of. . . Observations

In Search Of. . .Observations: Verbal Clutter and Syntax

Most of us talk more like Sylvester Cat, Tweety Bird, and Foghorn Leghorn, than we care to admit.

Think about it. We fill our speech with verbal clutter, self-interruptions, and half thoughts. We forget what we're saying, or our brains are trying to put the next word in place so it supplies an automated answer. We can't avoid it. Of course some are more prone to it than others. Those others being voice coaches and people like Bill Clinton, who was trained to take a breath instead of saying "um."

If you slow down and listen to yourself, you'll find that you've crowded your speech with an amazing amount of verbal clutter. You'll find like little phrases like "you know," interjected at the end of every other thought. Or "yeah" on all the others. Personally, "you know" gets on my nerves more than all the other ones. No real reason why, but it does. I even told someone once I didn't know what he meant. Despite that though, I am even guilty of using it too, you know.

It's a cultural thing too. Certain phrases belong to certain cultures or regions. Like I've found, French people really do say Oh la la la la, when they're upset, like Leslie Caron does in Gigi. Like if someone says "fixin'" as in "I'm fixin' to go to the store," you can assume that they live or lived in the south. Or if "wicked" is a good thing, they might be from the Boston area. This leads into catch phrases. You know that saying that is unique to one person you know.

I've known several people with catch phrases. I knew a girl who said "good gravy." She is the only person who says that phrase. It didn't catch on for me. Or a roommate of mine said "huzzah." For a while, I said it too, even after she dropped the phrase. Until her boyfriend reminded me that she said it first. I dropped it completely as a matter of originality. It happens like that a lot though. The more time you spend with someone, the more you'll use their words.

Oddly enough, there's nothing we can do about verbal clutter And "you know" aside, there is nothing I would want to do about it. Verbal clutter, catch phrases, and overall syntax is what makes unique. It has the singular ability to separate from each other and group us together. It's what allows you tell one person from another, but also tell where a person is from and who they spend time with.

As Always,