In Defense of "Like"

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the use of the word "like" in its two least popular meaning among English lovers and most common form among English speakers: the quotative, as in "and I was like, 'what?'", and the hedge word, as in "I like bombed on that exam". The author points out that, although she feels embarrassed about how her use of the word affects people's perception of her intelligence, she feels very strongly, as others do, that the current uses of the word "like" have very real, even innovative, purposes. The paper relates that the ability of "like" to indirectly quote or relay speech, behavior and thought with one word sets it apart from other words with similar functions. The author states that she sometimes uses the word to be purposely and purposefully imprecise. The paper concludes that informal usages of the English language help communicate sincerity and friendliness and demonstrate a natural process for the standard to eventually become archaic.

From the Paper:

"But, despite what Lily Thorns may like to believe, the quotative and hedge-word "like" were not born of wealthy teenaged girls from Southern California in the 1980s. In the 1962 novel "A Clockwork Orange" by English author Anthony Burgess, the hedge-work "like" is also frequently used by the narrator, Alex - a young man of high intelligence, in fact. The usage is not exclusively American. I also notice it was used by my aunt and uncle, both of whom are in their 50s and were born and raised in Manchester (as was Anthony Burgess, for that matter), as a hedge word--although usually at the end of their sentences, much like the hedge-phrase "as it were". "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Edwards, John. 'Talk Tidy': The Art of Speaking Wenglish. Cardiff: Tidyprint Publications, 2003.
• Garter, John. "The Word 'Like'." themolotov.net 2006 13 APR 2008 <http://www.themolotov.net/entry/38/>.
• Moe, John. "I Like Like." Defective Yeti 2006 13 APR 2008 <http://www.defectiveyeti.com/archives/001761.html>.
• O'Conner, Patricia T.. "Language: Learning to Like Like." International Herald Tribune 2007 13 APR 2008 <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/15/opinion/edoconnor.php>.
• Siegel, Muffy E.A. "Like: The Discourse Particle and Semantics." Journal of Semantics. 19.1(2002): 35-71.

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