What's with this 'like'?

Question

To all those who like write the way they talk - I mean really, like really talk like that. What does it mean in the way you like Use it? Puh-leease don't come the old 'it's the way people talk' ... tell me what it actually means ... what purpose does it serve?

I mean, there's all this stuff about reducing what you say to mere grunts and combinations of letters and numbers (u kno wat I meen - an u kno I h8 it) and then you have to throw in redundant words? It used to be the F word every f*ing third bl*dy f*ing syllable ... now its like ... arggggh!!

So, come on ... put your gum in your cheek and spit it out ... (Oh G*d ... I didn't mean THAT) ... I mean like tell me what it MEANS!

J.D.: Valley girls are the equivalent of Essex girls here (just so you know when you visit the UK). Yes, they wouldn't have a clue that you were making fun of them ... they would think you were like being kewl or summat. I guess the only thing you can do is laugh - and be bilingual!

Ooops ...'summat' is fom da West Country sub-dialect, innit?

Does ne1 fink I put this in de rong category, like? I mean, shud I hv put it in Singles & Dating or dat kinda crap, innit? Cos I aint getting meny answers to it, ya no wat i mean?

I agree with Dio and Teach to a point. Often it seems to be a filler. It also seems to indicate emphasis, though - 'I mean really, like really kewl!' - in which position it serves as a verbal punctuation mark, something like a comma.

There is (in the UK) a much older dialectical usage than the one I'm talking about but in that one it is almost always used to end a sentence and is effectively a full stop.

("Oi bin dahn ter see me ol' mam terday and she were a bit poorly, loik")

Answer 1

HAHAHAHA!!!!! I feel your pain.... I believe the word "like" was made famous by some teeny-bopper california valley girl movie a while ago... Maybe "Clueless" or something similar... maybe as far back as the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" movie with Kristy Swanson as Buffy. My fiance and I were in Starbucks one day and the girl at the counter talked like that. I started talking like that and she had no clue I was making fun of her. And the people who talk like your second description just annoy the hell out of me... and the ones who type in ebonics... Is it so friggin hard to spell out the whole word, or use words that everyone can understand???

Answer 2

I dunno wot ur torkin bout Mr O. I dunno wot u mean, I'm talkin fine aint I? Aint this ow we've supose 2 tork eh? I mean really, do ya wan uz 2 speak proper fo sho? See, I'm gettin me hud speak an me midlunder speak muddled up now! It really duz anoy me wen peepull dunt talk proper, I wunt giv em bes' ansa, cos it annoys the poop aaaahhht o me.

Ok, let's put this another way, yes Mr.O. you're absolutely correct, it is extremely annoying when people use text speak on here, but the trouble is there are teenagers on here, lots and lots and lots of them, some of them don't know how to type correctly or even how to speak correctly, therefore it becomes a problem, I have noticed however that there are also a number of over 50s using this site too, and some of them use that mind numbing text speak too. I do apologise if I've ever used it, the trouble is sometimes I get over tired and don't know what I'm doing. I really think people should start typing correctly and use better grammar (not that mine's too good though).

Answer 3

'like' is put in as filler, so the person has a chance to actually, maybe, get their brain working to get the next word out. Sadly, It seldom works.

As you pointed out, there is always some word or phrase put to that use. They are easy to spot. If the sentance or phrase means the exact same thing with the word(s) removed, it is filler.

Example:

It is um like, um like very hot outside
It is f'ing hot as sh!t outside man
It is very hot outside

Essentially mean the the same thing. The extra words are just filler.

-Dio

Answer 4

I think saying, "Like", must be an invitation to the other person to empathise with what the speaker is trying to say. It's used in a comparative way.

Dunno really. It's, like, totally daft. Innit?

Answer 5

like fer sure, totally gnarly dood, dey tink it sounds or looks kewl