Millenial Mode

Three truths:

1. Language is always changing, and nothing can stop it. 
2. Some of those changes may seem unnecessary or problematic to some people. 
3. Many times our issues are indefensible linguistically, but we have them nonetheless.

Millennials have created or adopted a few discourse "fillers" that are always marked to me, even though I cannot explain why. (Remember that we all have linguistic "pet peeves" that can't be justified through the lens of sociolinguistics. Still...we are all human!) Not only are my issues unfounded, they deal with fillers that are on their surface quite friendly and inclusive. Why would they bother me if they actually serve to make connections between the speaker and the interlocutor? I will continue to try to figure out what my problem is with them, but in the end, I know I must just get used to them. In time, I suspect they will no longer seemed marked at all.

Some millennial fillers:

1. Using "So..." to start a sentence. Example:
• Interviewer: "You've done a lot of research on gender and language. What do the latest studies tell us in regards to gender and the use of taboo language?
• Guest: "So...many studies find that the gap between men and women in this regard is rapidly lessening."
2. Using "I mean..." to start a sentence, especially when there is no need for clarification. Example:
• Professor: "Welcome to the class, Jessica. We're talking about African American English. Do you have any friends who speak this dialect?"
• Jessica (the first thing she ever says to this professor): "I mean...I do have some friends who speak it, but only in informal situations."
3.  Ending multiple sentences with the tag "right?" If I hear it in a setting where someone is trying to teach something to someone, or make sure they are following the conversation (known as a comprehension check in the education world), it doesn't stand out. It only gets my attention if it's a situation where a person is telling something to someone who doesn't have much (or any) prior knowledge of the topic. Example:
1. Speaker 1: "I want to tell you what I learned about the Appalachian dialect in class today. So, it turns out that the dialect traces its roots back to the British Isles, right?"
2. Speaker 2: "I don't know, you tell me...you're the one who learned about it!"