THE LIKEABILITY OF "LIKE"

Why do people, like, say, ‘LIKE’ so much?... 🙂

An expression usually seen as a sign of lethargy and dimwit, could actually be, if one goes back to Shakespearean times, an indicator of intelligence. Why, there wouldn't be a celebrity interview on air ever without the plethora of "like" these days, it thus being such “a rich and an elite emotional nuance."... 😄

It is thought that the usage probably began in the 1980s by young ladies aiming to lay emphasis on a given issue, or as a signal to focus on something of connective importance during interpersonal rapports...

The proponents argue that “like” isn’t just a filler word. It is in fact an incredibly versatile and dynamic word, being a noun, a verb, an adverb, a preposition etc. which allows you to convey an idea without assurance of total accuracy, but giving one an impression of wittiness and scholarliness...

Often seen as just a natural part of speech, it has emerged as a discourse marker pointing towards a spontaneous and unrehearsed conversation between a thinker and a listener...

Also, the flexibility of the word is so immense that it appears to convey someone else's reaction through you, in your own words, highlighting that you are thinking meaningfully about the same in your own context...

It's long history and widespread use notwithstanding, there are several quarters including employers, educators, public-orators businessmen, politicians etc. taking exception to it's usage. They argue (erroneously) that

the word is a meaningless filler, with a tinge of sexism, making the usage sound girlish and stupid, and having an anti-career or anti-progressive potential, including dismissal from service!...

I am inclined to agree that the usage has some flavour of 'carefully-careless artificiality', but that I suppose should be passable. Is it abhorred just because of the inherent human tendency to judge? Is it right to be too critical about the way someone speaks to the extent of being prejudicial? I have my reservations on that count... 🙂

In the final analysis, linguistic research studies on conversational transcripts today suggest the possibility that conscientious and thoughtful people who are more likely to use “like” as a discourse marker, may in fact be more intelligent than those that don’t... 😄

🙏🙏