Has, like, "as well" overtaken the word "like" as the most overused English in the US?

Well hopefully people will stop comedians from putting ,” in bed” at the end of every sentence.

I prefer the word “also.”

I think I use as well, too, and also equally. I haven’t noticed the overuse of any of them.

I prefer “too” and “also”. I don’t use “as well” often.

And I thought I was easily annoyed!

I don’t mind “as well.” Now, when people say “and/or what-not,” it drives me nuts.

Check back in. Especially if you listen to the radio.

Thank you for giving me a new complex.

The real pain I find these days is, “I mean”, as the subject of any and every sentence. How could one begin with, “I mean” when they’ve said nothing yet, therefore nothing to be clarified? Please, do tell young persons and old, what do you mean? How unsure can one be to assume whatever they say will require clarification before having even begun to speak? I heard it from one mouth after another during the Olympics. Whenever an athlete was interviewed, the first two words they spoke were the dreaded, “I mean”.

Whatever.

Dude. Like, whatever. As well.

Not yet. The most overused words I hear in conversations are people saying ”you know” over and over during a conversation. I have a co-worked that says that in almost every sentence, it seems like, and it gets to be quite obnoxious after a while.

I mean, like, hey… I do it as well.

I think you should too, as well, like me.

And now, ^^^^^^ you know how to sound just like a fourteen year old.

^ any tips on making me sound and look like a 28 year old, as well?
I mean, that would be way cool!

@whitenoise do it twice as much?

hmmm, I’ll try…

Eh, I do that all the time. As well. Thing is, that can’t possibly be anything new, because I’ve picked this up from reading old ass vampire literature where a sentence could run on and on and last at least two paragraphs. I’m not joking, some of those old European stories, man…sentences weren’t the same back then, they were really long. ’‘As well’’ is something I have often seen in them, among other things.

I mean here’s an example;
’‘She hurried to the hall’s end where the early evening skies of Summer would greet her, to be away from the gentle gathering which was filled with the smoke of cigars, unleashed by gentle men to be sure, but pompous as well, to speak of hunting the lion when they, without being conscious of such, were the prey, hunted by a force more fearsome and dark, that much more so than their nightmares could convey, and this Anabella knew, for those nightmares she had seen, and lived.’’

Well I just made that shit up, but seriously, that’s how it goes. Look up any Gothic stories from 1900 and below, they’re all like that. I’m also surprised on how much the word ’‘lust’’ was used back then, to convey things other than being horny, yet today, nobody uses the word much, but we still recognize it as just being horny. Also I blame the French for this shit.

I think the internet makes us acutely aware of the trends in language evolution that, not only would not have spread so quickly before the internet, but were probably not nearly as visible. A lot of people seem to resist that language changes, sometimes in ways that may not be beautiful, but it’s inevitable.
I see now that @Symbeline‘s response above is saying almost the same thing, with an example, as well.

I don’t think overuse of ‘as well’ has crossed the atlantic

Someone please explain to me my sudden urge to punch a baby in the face.

@ragingloli
You should put them on spikes and roast them.

Two phrases I hear way too often on TV and radio reporting are “Game changer” and “That said.” I agree with “DigitalBlue” about the Internet (and TV) making us more aware of language generation.

“Yeah,so, yes, so that was it. There was a spirit of ex-empire, this thing of “things can’t be done,” whereas in America, I thought there was a spirit of “can be done!” The pioneer thing.

“Go do it, what do you want to do?”

“I want to put babies on spikes.”

“Go then! Go!”

…

@ragingloli Because you’re a jerk and because you’re violent as well :)

As well? Yeah right, like as if.

Pachy, “That said” has begun to irritate the hell out of me. It’s the non-lawyer’s “the aforementioned notwithstanding,” which makes me insane too (purposely avoiding “as well”).

I’m blaming the 24-hour news cycle, since I can’t directly lay blame on the Bush administration. It seems there is a need to continually string together our sentences. So, that said, like . . . . whatever, okay!

I think @picante is onto something with “a need to continually string together our sentences”. The talking heads are setting the precedent, and we’re all following. I mean, like, hey, with that said, it would be a way cool game changer if we could just say what we mean, as well. Ya know?

I think there may be some regional differences here. As for being promulgated by the internet, I think it’s just media in general. “Valley Girl” came out in 1983 and raised basically the same question.

Thanks to everyone that chimed in.

@picante, AGREED! And the funny thing is, often newscasters don’t even use the phrase correctly. They simply go on to repeat, in slightly different words, what they just said.

As for “Game changer,” I must have heard that phrase two dozen times yesterday while following the news on the Malaysian airliner disappearance.

There was a piece on something similar to this on NPR within a couple of days. It was about a tech/music festival in Austin Texas where it’s taboo to use a phrase that’s ever been used before.

I looked but I can’t find a link to the segment I heard.

Actually, I can’t say that I’ve actually had any problems with “as well,” at least not yet. Now that you’ve actually mentioned the phrase and brought it to my attention, I might actually be more aware of it now. Actually, though, I’ve been known to grit my teeth at a number of verbal tics. Once something becomes noticeable, it actually becomes a nuisance.

I had actually noticed that, as well, @SadieMartinPaul

Yeah, I mean, like, I noticed it , as well, actually, but was like, “Whatever Dude”, you know, it is not a game-changer. the aforementioned notwithstanding as well, okay?

I haven’t noticed that; but what has been getting on my nerves is when people start a descriptive sentence with, “So…”. I hear it often on NPR and other programs when a guest being interviewed begins their reply inappropriately with “So…”.