As has been detailed more than once by Y-H-B, there is a tendency among younger speakers of American English, in particular, to use the words “awesome,” “perfect,” and the phrase [sic] “love it” in response to the most diverse utterances. I witnessed this the other day when two adult educators––one a medical doctor–-stood before a class at a local middle school in Vermont and gave a presentation on wellness and physical health to a group of young teenagers. Whenever one of the students asked a question or made a comment, the woman in charge of the presentation responded with the word “awesome” or “perfect.” This happened every time over the course of a presentation that last more than half an hour.
It is clear that such a person is suffering from advanced speech anosognosia. What can an audience of youngsters who are used to hearing the words in question over and over again think of the meaning the speaker intends by repeating “awesome” ad nauseam?
MICHAEL SHAPIRO