>>>I think there is a difference between something like Spanglish and the addition of "like" or "you know" to speaking. In fact, those words are simply a way of saying "um," of holding the floor longer. If you listen to people give speeches, only the best speakers will totally avoid using audible pauses. "Like" and "you know" and the other fillers serve that purpose.
>>>
>>>Tamar
>>
>>It bugs me the way .... er politicians ... er speak in this ... er pause-staccato manner. Is that .... er what you mean?
>
>Yep. I tend to say "ah" when I want to hold the floor and haven't found the next word yet. Most of us have something.
>
>Tamar

That's OK occasionally but there is one ... ah-English politician, Anne Widdicome, whose whole ... ah-speech is thus punctuated, even getting out the ... ah-simplest of sentences, and a political journalist that does the same. It's regular and purgatory listening to them.

Terry