Discussion Groups / English Usage / September 2010

Teen slang: What's, like, so wrong with like?
By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine

Actress Emma Thompson says young people make themselves sound stupid by
speaking slang outside of school. But while the use of the word "like"
might annoy her, it fulfils a useful role in everyday speech.

"That's, like, so unfair."

One response to Emma Thompson's comments likely to trigger a rush of
steam from her ears.

The Oscar winner has spoken out against the use of sloppy language. She
says people who speak improperly make her feel "insane" and she
criticises teenagers for using words such as "like" and "innit".

But is peppering one's sentences with "like" such a heinous crime
against the English tongue?

Language experts are more understanding of teen culture than Thompson,
pointing out the word's many uses. It's the unconventional uses that are
probably getting the actress hot under the collar. One of the most
common is using "like" as a filler word in a conversation.
Continue reading the main story

But fillers are a way we all stall for time when speaking and
historically always have. It has nothing to do with sloppiness, says
John Ayto, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang.

"It is not a lazy use of language, that is a common fallacy along
non-linguists," he says. "We all use fillers because we can't keep up
highly-monitored, highly-grammatical language all the time. We all have
to pause and think.

"We have always used words to plug gaps or make sentences run smoothly.
They probably did in Anglo Saxon times, it's nothing new."

But crucially, we often use non-word fillers, such at "um" and "ah". The
fact that "like" is an actual word could be why Thompson doesn't like it.

"When words break out from a specific use and become commonly used in a
different way, people come down on them," says Robert Groves, editor on
the English team at Collins Dictionaries.

'Invisible'

"Using 'um' may seem more correct to Emma Thompson because using 'like'
as a filler is not a feature of the language she uses. The more
disassociated you are from the group that uses a word in a different
way, the more that use stands out. It will be invisible to teenagers."

Another common use of "like" by young people is as a quotative, which is
a grammatical device to mark reported speech. For example: "She was
like, 'you aren't using that word correctly' and I was like, 'yes I am'."

It is also commonly used to indicate a metaphor or exaggeration. "I,
like, died of embarrassment when you told me to stop using slang."
Alternatively, it is employed to introduce a facial expression, gesture
or sound. A speaker may say "I was like..." and then hold their hands
up, shrug or roll their eyes.
Teenage girls I, like, so wish she'd just give it a rest

While certain uses of language - such as fillers - have probably always
been around, the appropriaton of "like" in this context can be traced to
a familiar source of so much modern day slang- California's Valley Girls.

"Many of these uses of 'like' originate in America," says Mr Grove.
"They were probably introduced into British English through the media,
like films and television."

Using "like" in this way is also about signalling membership of a club,
says English language specialist Professor Clive Upton, from the
University of Leeds.

"If they [young people] do deploy the sort of language they're using on
the streets in formal settings then it could well be a disadvantage to
them but at other times it's quite clearly the way they get along, the
way that they signal they belong in a group, the way that they fit in.

"And we all do that in our professional lives as well. We've got all our
acronyms and our little words that we use that send a signal - I'm one
of the club."

Thompson just isn't part of the "like" club.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11426737?print=true