Whether you regard yourself as a scholar of linguistics or a self proclaimed language snobāyouāve probably, at least once, crossed over to the dark side and used the word like in a sentence where it, like, doesnāt belong.
Narrowly escaping the grammar police, you catch yourself, cringe, and promise never again! This usage of like is known as a slang interjection. This form as well asĀ theĀ adverbial use dates back a lot further than you might think, though.
Valley girl speak
Many people believe Moon Unit Zappa and her 1982 single Valley Girl are responsible for popularizing this usage of like precisely at the momentĀ Ms. Zappa sang, āItās like, barf me out.ā ThisĀ sociolect that the song celebrates, Valspeak, originates in Southern California.
Like in pop culture
In reality, the slang use of the word like has been a part of popular culture dating as far back as 1928 and a cartoon in the New Yorker that depicts two women discussing a manās workspace with a text that reads, āWhatās he got ā an awfice?ā āNo, heās got like a loft.ā The word pops up again in 1962ās A Clockwork Orange as the narrator proclaims, āI, like, didnāt say anything.ā The notorious usage of like appeared as linguistic filler as early as the 19th century with the following passage in Robert Louis Stevensonās 1886 novel Kidnapped: ā’Whatās like wrong with him?ā said she at last.āLike is an extensible word that can be used as a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, and interjection. What uses of ālikeā do you think are acceptable and which should be discouraged?
