Friday, August 31, 2007
Like, why do they do this?
Like, my daughter turned 11 -- known as "oneteen" in our household -- about a year and a half ago, and suddenly "like" is her most popular word. Could somebody please explain why?
12 Comments:
By 
, at
Fri Aug 31, 01:41:00 PM:
Peer pressure. She learned it from her friends, who are still emulating the Valley Girl fad from over a decade ago.
By , at
Fri Aug 31, 02:18:00 PM:
"Could somebody please explain why?"
Jeez, you sure ask easy questions.
1. Like, it's cool.
2. Like, it gives one time to, like, think of what they're going to, like, say next, rather than, like, come across as a complete, like, fool.
3. Would you rather she say "uh"?
"Uh, Dad, uh, me and my friends want to, uh, go over to the mall and, uh, do some shopping. Uh, is that okay?"
"Like, Pops. Like, we're gonna do some shopping. Like, you cool with that?"
From a psychological standpoint, it might be argued that getting into the "like" thing is MUCH better than the "uh" trap. That little mental hiccup can be extremely difficult to get rid of. "Like" can easily be dropped when the fad wears off.
And isn't that amazing.
Here you started off the article complaining, and you end up grateful for small favors.
Blog power. :)
Oh, and one little helpful update for your article:
"my daughter turned 11 -- known as "oneteen" in our household -- about a year and a half ago"
There's now a word out for that, Hawk. It's called "12". :)
By , at
Fri Aug 31, 02:19:00 PM:
Somewhere in the teenage dialect they picked up this terrible habit of conditionalizing everything they say. The word "like" is a comparative word that provides a relative meaning to a statement. How is it that everything a teenager says has become so relative and not definitive. Have we lost the bold, "throw-caution to the wind" youth? Have these children been so overly exposed to media that they now emulate the horrible dialect from Disney Channel to Nick to Discovery Kids reality shows?
By , at
Fri Aug 31, 02:44:00 PM:
In some instances it is an indicator of personality type. For one type, making up 30% of the populace and 45% of women, the first verbal indicator of distress is the loss of the ability to ask direct questions, which is combined with the behavior of over-adaptation - trying to overly please. Often, "like" is thrown into the middle of the sentence or the indirect question to soften it, in a subconscious effort not to displease.
By , at
Fri Aug 31, 03:53:00 PM:
My daughter doesn't say "like" much, but some of her friends do.
When they're around, I tell them I charge a quarter for every "like" I hear. When they think about it, I don't get any quarters.
I did the same to someone who worked for me for every "you know". I had enough for lunch a couple of times.
By 
Unknown, at
Fri Aug 31, 03:55:00 PM:
Initially, I think young teens use "like" as a verbal placeholder of sorts, a fork in the thought road if you will. Kids sometimes start talking mid-thought, or a new thought suggests itself mid-sentence, and they use "like" as a means of marking when and where their speech headed off-road.
At other moments, the word creeps into speech as a sort of nervous tick, especially when children are under a bit of pressure.
Adolescents become so used to the versatility of the word over time that it becomes an indiscriminant sound eventually, like breathing sounds, and so reliable that the speaker is unaware of the word. In those instances, you should simply ignore it as unimportant.
By , at
Fri Aug 31, 04:24:00 PM:
"Like" is replaced by "F**k" when the teenager grows up and joins the military.
By , at
Fri Aug 31, 04:49:00 PM:
Like, I heard this reporter like on the newscast today....
President George W. Bush's, uh, proposals to help homeowners, uh, burdened with subprime mortgages they can't, uh, afford are a "Band-Aid" that will, uh, offer U.S. consumers, uh, little aid, investors and analysts, uh, said on Friday.
Back to you, uh, Dan.
By Mystery Meat, at
Fri Aug 31, 05:05:00 PM:
"Like" has a very interesting etymology. According to Wikipedia, "in English, the word "like" can be a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, particle, conjunction, hedge, interjection, and quotative."
Popular culture has spread Valley Girl and Surfer Dude speak. What began as a mocking look at how some dumb-asses talk, has gone mainstream. It is satire turned inside-out.
But, the main reason your daughter is flinging that word about is she is entering puberty. Get used to it, dude.
By , at
Sat Sep 01, 08:40:00 AM:
Like if you don't know, already, you're Like to old to understand and Like you just embarrass yourself Like in front of the whole world! Like it's okay, I still Like you a lot!
Like,
Ted
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Sun Sep 02, 08:05:00 PM:
Dr. Mercury is correct. It is a placeholder while thinking, in order to hold the floor. That particular item is acquired because it is the age cohort fashion. Previous entries were not only uh, but I mean, and y'know.
By Papa Ray, at
Sun Sep 02, 08:43:00 PM:
That word and others try and invade and get ahold of my grandkids.
I fight it all the time.
"Kids sometimes start talking mid-thought, or a new thought suggests itself mid-sentence,"
I fight the mid-thought problem too. I tell them to look at me, tell me what subject they are talking about and explain the problem or thought to me.
If you start this "training" early on in their lives, it works. The Teachers of my two oldest grandboys are glad of my efforts and tell me that they think the boys are very good speakers. (well, for little rednecks).
I'm at the stage with Sweet Sarah, where when she says a word that isn't, I tell her that is not a word. At first she would say that everybody else says it, but that excuse didn't impress me and I let her know that.
Kids are a blessing and are somewhat like puppies. With good training you wind up with a great young person.
Without it, you never know what you are going to get, but most times, you won't like it.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
