In this YNOVID-19 pandemic, we mustn't forget the other, still serious language viruses we need to mitigate. Suffering from two at once can be doubly damaging to your articulation, and the one to fear most is Like1No1, commonly known as Like Flu. Simultaneous cases with YNOVID are spiking, especially in the hotspot, Under40. As a society, we must try to flatten the curve.

Even if you've avoided YNOVID, Like Flu can be serious. It makes you seem immature, sounding like a teenager. Its repetition annoys others—many say "like" three or four times a paragraph—and it obscures what you really mean (more on that below).

You surely don't want to seem inarticulate, immature, or annoying—the one people snicker at or avoid—so you must want to recover from Like Flu. It's hard to eliminate because you're probably unaware of it, much less its effect on others. But you can do it.

When I heard Korean rapper G-Dragon quoted as, "carpe diem, y'know," I tried to tease a young friend by asking if it should be corrected to "like carpe diem, y'know," "carpe like diem, y'know," or "carpe like, y'know, diem." His serious response gave three common meanings of what he defended as "the modern like."

1. To indicate that something is counter to expectations ("I thought it would be just her, but she brought, like, her whole family").

2. To soften a hard statement ("this is, like, the only way to do it").

3. To quote someone ("He was like, thanks for the soda"). He thought this one most interesting because "it doesn't just quote someone, it also serves to sum up their worldview at the moment ('I was like, let's give it a shot'), though you don’t' know whether it's a direct quote or not." (He's right about that.)

Well, I'm, like, puzzled (in meanings 1 and 2—well, maybe meaning 3, too). My worldview is that we should say what we mean. We can't expect people to translate our "likes" in real time, can we? Let's just tell them.

There are many more options than his three, such as "such as," "possibly," "approximately," "about," "similar to," "said" or "saying" (for "She was like…"). Like Flu sufferers find this clarity unnecessary, even inappropriate, but it can save your articulation.

If you're not infected, take the vaccine now. It's Awareness. Notice all the "likes" of others. The easiest way is to count them. "That sentence had three 'likes'; the next one two." A silent chuckle will increase your awareness and sensibility.

If you are infected, then listen to yourself. That's important for all articulation, but not what we do naturally. It's hard to count "likes" while you're talking, but you can notice some of them and give yourself a slight slap on the wrist. Having read this, you may find it hard to avoid noticing them.

If symptoms persist, go to the harder but very effective next step. Confess to a trusted person that you're a "liker" and don't want to be. Ask for honest feedback. Maybe holding up fingers for the number of "likes" in your last sentence, or just, "You did it again." It shouldn't take much of that to increase your awareness. Stronger feedback might be to ask what you meant by that last "like," or the one you used most. Hold your temper, of course. It'll be annoying.

Anyway, my worldview says we should admit our ailments and treat them—like fast!

                                     © Copyright 2021 by Robert D. Smith