Many are the times I’ve heard an older person descry young people’s (over)use of the word “like.” I am here today to defend its usage in language, in everyday speech, and – yes – in the vocabulary of young people.
Like is such a versatile word. Up there with the word “okay,” which I know old people use frequently. Here are some of the many ways it is used:
· CONJUNCTION: To replace “as if” or “as though.” As an editor, I defend this usage because it cuts the needed words by 50%.
Example: “He asked me to do the solo – like I know how to sing or something.”
· ADJECTIVE: To substitute for “approximately” or the suffix “-ish.” As an English-speaker, I defend this usage because it is much easier to say than “approximately” and less tacked-on than “-ish.”
Example: “The solo is like five hours long.”
“I thought it was 230 minutes.”
“Something like that.”
· PUNCTUATION: To indicate quoted speech coming up (in verbal communication only). I defend this usage because it means that we don’t have to say “comma, opening quotation marks” and then “closing quotation marks” when we’re quoting someone in speech.
Example: “I was like what, me? And he was like yeah, I think you have a nice voice. Then I was like thanks I guess.”
· VERB: It provides an alternative to the word “love.” As a writer, I defend this usage because the word “love” is overused and undervalued.
Example: “I liked the solo, but I didn’t love it; it wasn’t as good as last year’s.”
· INTERJECTION: It replaces the word “um.” As a former student of speech class, I defend this usage because “um” gets really annoying.
Example: “What did you think of, like, the choir robes?”
“Honestly, like, color was okay, but the style was kind of early-90s.”
· PRONOUN(?): To hedge around things that you might not exactly know, or at least don’t want to take responsibility for. As a talkative person, I defend this usage because it means I don’t have to think for a long time before I say some things.
Example: “There was like a red choir robe and a black choir robe I could choose from.” (NOTE: This could mean that the choir robes were pink and dark green; but use of the word “like” gives the speaker wiggle-room.)
And if you’re really short on vocabulary, you can always use them all at the same time: “When he was like, I liked it, I was like stunned or something. I mean, like, the singer did an awesome job – not like last year when it was like soooooo boring, I like fell asleep. Anyway, it’s not like he even knows what he’s talking about.”
