Filler words are words which add nothing to the surrounding sentence .
Previously, they’d mostly been a speech problem (examples include; ‘like, you know, you understand’, etc.), but with the rise of communication via the internet, they’ve crept into written language - and fast.
Examples include; ‘however, thus’, etc.
Words not only have meanings, but some have rules guiding them (‘however’ is typically used to introduce a comparative statement).
The simplest way to figure out if a word(s) are being used as filters is if the surrounding sentence makes sense with the suspected filler word(s) removed.
This isn’t a question of (as some have ridiculously said) the ‘freedom of language’.
I doubt anyone who’s been in a conversation where someone incessantly says, ‘you know’, or 'like’in almost every sentence hasn’t felt like they’re hearing nails on a blackboard.
There’s certain inviolate rules - things that, no matter if a society changes, will still remain. There’ll always be rules regarding safety, because we need them There’s rules in language - thousands of years old, so everyone can communicate coherently.
While ther have been ‘common’ language variations (a standard language, as used by the common people) thoughout history (yes, even Latin, in ancient Rome had it), that’s not what is used to communicate on the whole.
Filler words are in almost all languages (I speak English, natively, but I also know French and German and have heard them crop up there as well).
They denigrate a language.
A grammar tool such as this should check for this type of misuse as well.