Like

It’s not unusual for older generations to say that whatever young people are doing, they’re also ruining our language. So it’s not surprising that many adults think the word “like” is a bad thing. Some young people themselves dismiss “like” as a filler word, just what they use when they don’t know what they’re going to say. But that doesn’t mean it’s an empty filler word. It actually comments on your attitude to what you’re saying.

When people use “like” it means: “This is what I know, but please don’t hold me to it.” My favourite story came from a journalist who once interviewed me. As she left, I asked when it would be in the paper, and she said, “It’ll be, like, Tuesday.” And then she understood why she said “like”. She didn’t want to promise for Tuesday because the editor might pull it, and she didn’t want to say “around Tuesday” because that’s approximate, but it’s not approximate at all because it’s scheduled for Tuesday. There really is no other English word for it.

Another possible meaning is that I’m afraid to say what I know, as in: “I’m, like, pregnant.” Sometimes teenagers use it to show uncertainty, or because they don’t know the right wording and it is for the listener to fill in the details. “She’s, like, a dentist” means that she could also be an orthodontist. Indeed, perhaps the problem for adults who dislike the word is that “like” is informal and connected with young people and irresponsibility.

We adopt the language of people we admire, so at some level, by using “like” we’re unconsciously saying we admire young people, otherwise we’d have never picked it up. If it weren’t useful, it wouldn’t be sticking. It’s not like the word “amazing”, which is the sort of slang which will go away and be replaced by another intensifier, such as “awesome”. When linguists started noticing “like” in early 80s, they thought it would go away. Instead, “like” has spread and it’s still here. Is there another word like “like”? The answer appears to be no.