Why do American girls always say "like" between almost every word?

Question

I came to the conclusion it was because of bad schooling! idk

Answer 1

That's not our whole country, it's a "Valley Girl" stereotype (like California). If you have ever seen "Clueless", they are in Cali, so...we are not all that way!

Answer 2

This is a relatively recent phenomenon. It started in the 1950's with the Beatniks and continued on through the 60's, 70's and 80's with the surfers and valley girls of Southern California. Rock singer Frank Zappa's daughter, Moon Zappa, gave it a boost in the early 1980's when the Valley Girl fad was starting.

The use of "like" as a pop patois word has also found its way into Canadian English too from what I've seen on Canadian television.

Nevertheless, words like these are usually trendy and survive for only one to three generations. They are used mostly by people under the age of thirty five.

Answer 3

Not all American Girls talk like that. It's really a "valley girl" thing. The funny thing about it is, most of the "valley girls" go to private, Catholic or boarding schools. So your poor education theory is wrong. Girls who have bad schooling say "real talk"

Answer 4

Another annoying one is putting the word 'so' in the syntactically incorrect position: 'We so are out of here!' However, as said by an earlier poster, it is not just the US girls who talk and write tlike this:in the UK we say these things too, as well as weird and redundant expressions like' 'Innit?' (Manchester), 'Likesay' (Edinburgh) and my own favourite, the ubiquitous 'Man' appended after every statement regardless of gender as in,' I could fair eat a scabby-heided horse, Man!' (Yes, I am Scottish).

Answer 5

I don't know if you were seriously looking for answers, but ...

I see it as an interesting linguistic innovation (although I find it personally annoying). In my view, it serves a nongrammatical function somewhat like Japanese honorific and humbling terms. One observes this use of "like" chiefly in communication between peers, where it makes the message softer and more casual by making it more tentative, inviting dialog as mutual-social-grooming rather than pronouncing judgment or narrowly conveying information.

It means, "Don't harsh me for what I'm saying. I know I'm maybe not as good as you (as qualified, as smart, as perceptive, etc.), but I'd like to tentatively offer this for your consideration.")

Compare:
|--1: Cheryl's new boyfriend is the coolest.
|--2: Cheryl's new boyfriend is, like, the coolest, y'know?

Statement 1 has the form of an absolute: The speaker expresses her judgment as a fact, offering no invitation for agreement or disagreement. The subtext of statement 1 is that the speaker's statement stands on its own, independent of the listener's opinion on either the subject or the speaker. It can be taken as information that disregards feelings.

Statement 2 expresses tentativity, and subtly conveys a sense of "forgive me if I'm not saying this exactly right". It invites reassurance and agreement (the usual and expected social response), and it opens the door for disagreement that wouldn't be taken as criticism. The subtext of statement 2 is that the speaker's statement is a social gesture, easily modified depending on the listener's opinion on the subject or the speaker. It expresses feeling and attitude as much as (or more than) it conveys information.

No, I don't think this use of "like" is consciously calculated, any more than prefacing a reply with "Well, ..." or inserting ums or ers. It reminds me of how many people insert a minor stammer to indicate deference, uncertainty, or tentativity. This is a trademark tic of NPR interviewer Teri Gross (Fresh Air):
|--: And so you're saying that musical talent is, uh, is...genetic?
(Subtext: I'm not judging or criticizing your opinion; rather, I'm on your side and trying to gain a clearer understanding of you. By humbling myself and deferring to you, I indicate respect for you as a person: It is not my opinion that interests me, but yours.)

Another example:
In IM or e-mail, people who are unsure of the spelling of a word will often append "(sp?)" as a social mollification that has no denotative or grammatical meaning.

Answer 6

It's not just girls - boys are guilty as well. It's just a speech habit that they have picked up from one another. Actually, it became a "thing" in the '80s with the whole "Valley Girl" explosion. It's just resurfacing.

Answer 7

No, it's not bad schooling. It's just the culture, depending on where a girl is from. Here in Orange County, "like" is like, part of the lexicon :o)

Canadians say "eh", the British say "yeah (I love when my friends say "I'll talk to you later, yeah?")" and "wot" and "coz" - all charming, and not indicative of one's education level.

Answer 8

sorry pal that in fact is not an american girlish habit it is indeed a white habit I hojld know I am mixed half my fam is white and most of them live in Liverpool, England and they say like more then you'd care to know

Answer 9

I think its like a pause when speaking, it's like, you know, and and maybe the brain has a little rest during these pauses, or it's simply habit.

Answer 10

Like, I don't know, like, why they, like, do that because it's, like, so annoying.

Seriously, it probably is a combination of bad schooling and the bad examples they see in movies and TV shows. Kind of like people who say "you know" between all their words--my mom used to get irritated and remark, "You know, you know, you know. No, I DON'T know."