I have verbal tics.
I mean that in the weak sense -- there are certain phrases that I rely upon relatively heavily, and show up disproportionately often in my speech. I know of some folks with strong verbal tics -- they'll end every other sentence with "right?" or something of that sort. I don't think I do that. I just have some distinctive phrases. And honestly, it's something I like about me.
I don't think I know what all of them are. But I'll list the ones I do know, and folks who know me can fill in any others they've noticed.
"Well that's positive"
"That's unfortunate"
"I haven't spoken to you in an age and a half!"
"Back to better."
remember the days of "ladies and gentlemen" or "my fellow senators"?
ReplyDeleteI'm terrified I'm going to lapse back into that during oral argument.
ReplyDeleteI drastically overuse the word "actually." I once used it three times in a single spoken sentence and my best friend from law school mocked me unmercifully. Thankfully now that I'm aware of the tic I can go back and edit my writing to remove the excess ones.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like having a toddler around to make you aware of your verbal tics as they pick them up and try to use them correctly in sentences, the same way they pick up all the rest of their language.
ReplyDeleteThough ... a three-year-old who says "actually" all the time and who cocks his head to one side in a thoughtful manner when he says it is kind of cute.