Why the word "Awesome" is being targeted for it's recent overuse is beyond me. A twitter newbie, i've encountered more references to the same Intelligent Life magazine article than I thought possible . As if it's the first word whose constant repetition and misuse ticks people off. (http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/robert-lane-greene/just-awesome)
Here's a question for Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point -how does a word suddenly come into vogue, only to be discarded some time in the future for another? Are language trends subject to the same caprices as those of fashion. Or maybe it's a matter of simple exposure...like suddenly realizing you've adopted your friend's laugh because you hear it so often. If you are as taken with words as I am, you can think back to the words that your mouth somehow got snagged on and couldn't move past: "like" is the big one but there's also "dude", "brutal", "whatever", "sweet", etc.
These words are a bit like security blankets, their use is at the same time a comfort and a guilty pleasure. A way to succinctly and vaguely indicate your non-opinion of something. Generations of teenagers, often the ones to experiment with language the most freely, have applied non-traditional meanings to otherwise conventional words. It's part of the rebellion, taking possession of language and manipulating it to exclude others. It can also be a way of asserting your individuality or your conformity to a certain group. The informal language you chose to use is as identity defining as your clothing, hair cut, or likes/dislikes.
Perhaps i'm biased, a result of the age in which I grew up, but I have to admit I love the word
