[ExI] You know what?

[Jef Allbright]

On Jan 23, 2008 10:14 AM, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Same in Italian. And "you know", btw, is a statement, not a
> question... An alternative implication might be "You know what I mean,
> so I would not really need to elaborate this point any further, but I
> am doing it anyway".

I find the abuse of "like" and "you know" grating.  But I find an
interesting contrast with Japanese.

In Japanese, "ne" (similar to the Canadian "eh") acts to involve and
engage the listener and is a very good thing although it too is
sometimes overused.  Another aspect of Japanese I like very much is
the common use of ellipsis.  The Japanese language, and its culture,
are very much about preferring the meaning over the message.

Along similar lines, I remember reading a Heinlein story (don't
remember which) where it was common for people in close relationships
to develop highly efficient, concise codes as replacement for everyday
language.  I remember thinking how nice that would be, as I'm
frequently frustrated by excess verbiage.  (May be related to my taste
for Zen as well as the VIM text editor.)  Occasionally I meet someone
similar, and the sense of "flow" is refreshing.

Precise language, and even more so, precise organization of concepts
are rare pleasures. On the other hand, I find that language and
concepts organized to my liking tend to intimidate and discourage
common interaction.

- Jef