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=== As a discourse particle, filler or hedge === ====History==== {{more citations needed section|date=February 2016}} The word ''like'' has developed several non-traditional uses in informal speech. Especially since the late 20th century onward, it has appeared, in addition to its traditional uses, as a [[colloquialism]] across all dialects of spoken English, serving as a [[discourse particle]], signalling either a [[hedge (linguistics)|hedge]] indicating uncertainty, or alternatively a marker of [[focus (linguistics)|focus]] signalling that what follows is new information<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Underhill |first1=Robert |date=Autumn 1988 |title=Like is, like, Focus. |journal=American Speech |volume=63 #3 |issue=3 |pages=234β246 |doi=10.2307/454820 |jstor=454820 }} name="Pragmatic Markers">{{cite book|title=Pragmatic Markers and Propositional Attitude |editor=Andersen, Gisle |editor2=Thorstein Fretheim|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|year=2000|pages=31β3|isbn=9027250987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLbs6k1t9KYC}}</ref> Although these particular colloquial uses of ''like'' became widespread among young students in the 1980s, its use as a filler is a fairly old regional practice in [[Welsh English]] and in Scotland; it was used similarly at least as early as the 19th century. It is traditionally, though not quite every time, used to finish a sentence in the Northern English dialect [[Geordie]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/may/15/why-do-people-like-say-like-so-much-in-praise-of-an-underappreciated-word |title=Why do people, like, say, 'like' so much? |last= Wolfson |first=Sam |date= 15 May 2022|website=The Guardian |series= |access-date=20 May 2022 |quote= But there are more uses than that, for example the Geordie tradition of finishing sentences with a like.}}</ref> It may also be used in a systemic format to allow individuals to introduce what they say, how they say and think.<ref>Mesthrie, R., Swann, J., Deumert, A., & Leap, W. (2009). Introducing sociolinguistics. Edinburgh University Press.</ref> Despite such prevalence in modern-day spoken English, these colloquial usages of ''like'' rarely appear in writing (unless the writer is deliberately trying to replicate colloquial dialogue) and they have long been stigmatized in formal speech or in [[high culture|high cultural]] or [[high society (group)|high social]] settings. Furthermore, this use of ''like'' seems to appear most commonly, in particular, among people who were children and [[adolescent]]s in the 1980s, while less so, or not at all, among people who were already middle-aged or elderly at that time. One suggested explanation was that younger English speakers were still developing their [[linguistic competence]], and, [[metalinguistic]]ally wishing to express ideas without sounding too confident, certain, or assertive, use ''like'' to fulfill this purpose in the cases where they were using "like" as a hedge.<ref name="Pragmatic Markers">{{cite book|title=Pragmatic Markers and Propositional Attitude |editor=Andersen, Gisle |editor2=Thorstein Fretheim|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|year=2000|pages=31β3|isbn=9027250987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLbs6k1t9KYC}}</ref> In [[popular culture|pop culture]], such colloquial applications of ''like'' (especially in verbal excess) are commonly and often comedically associated with [[Valley girl]]s, as made famous through the song "Valley Girl" by [[Frank Zappa]], released in 1982, and the film of the same name, released in the following year. The stereotyped "valley girl" language is an exaggeration of the variants of [[California English]] spoken by people who were young in the 1980s. This non-traditional usage of the word has been around at least since the 1950s, introduced through beat (or [[beatnik]]) and jazz culture. The beatnik character [[Maynard G. Krebs]] ([[Bob Denver]]) in the popular ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis|Dobie Gillis]]'' TV series of 1959-1963 brought the expression to prominence; this was reinforced in later decades by the character of [[Shaggy Rogers|Shaggy]] on ''[[Scooby-Doo]]'' (who was based on Krebs). Very early use of this locution{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} can be seen in a New Yorker cartoon of 15 September 1928, in which two young ladies are discussing a man's workplace: "What's he got β an awfice?" "No, he's got like a loft." It is also used in the 1962 novel ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'' by the narrator as part of his teenage slang and in the ''[[Top Cat]]'' cartoon series from 1961 to 1962 by the jazz beatnik type characters. A common [[eye dialect]] spelling is ''lyk''. ====Examples==== ''Like'' can be used in much the same way as "um..." or "er..." as a [[discourse particle]]. It has become common especially among North American teenagers to use the word "like" in this way, as in Valspeak. For example: * I, like, don't know what to do. It is also becoming more often used (East Coast [[Scottish English]], [[Northern England English]], [[Hiberno-English]] and [[Welsh English]] in particular) at the end of a sentence, as an alternative to ''you know''. This usage is sometimes considered to be a colloquial [[interjection]] and it implies a desire to remain calm and defuse tension: * I didn't say anything, like. * Just be cool, like. Use of ''like'' as a [[filler (linguistics)|filler]] has a long history in Scots English, as in [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s 1886 novel ''[[Kidnapped (novel)|Kidnapped]]'': <blockquote><poem>"What'll like be your business, mannie?" "What's like wrong with him?" said she at last.</poem></blockquote> ''Like'' can be used as [[hedge (linguistics)|hedge]] to indicate that the following phrase will be an approximation or exaggeration, or that the following words may not be quite right, but are close enough. It may indicate that the phrase in which it appears is to be taken metaphorically or as a [[hyperbole]]. This use of ''like'' is sometimes regarded as [[adverb]]ial, as ''like'' is often [[synonym]]ous here with adverbial phrases of approximation, such as "almost" or "more or less". Examples: * I have like no money left. * The restaurant is only like five miles from here. * I like almost died! Conversely, ''like'' may also be used to indicate a counterexpectation to the speaker, or to indicate certainty regarding the following phrase.<ref name="mcwhorter" /> Examples: * There was like a living kitten in the box! * This is like the only way to solve the problem. * I like know what I'm doing, okay? In the UK reality television series ''[[Love Island (franchise)|Love Island]]'' the word 'like' has been used an average of 300 times per episode, much to the annoyance of viewers.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/like-it-or-not-they-cant-stop-saying-it-on-love-island-zc8dtpkfs |title=Like it or not, they can't stop saying it on Love Island|first1=Sian |last1=Griffiths |author2=Julie Henry|date=June 16, 2019|work=[[The Times]] |location=London}}</ref>
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