h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This was a great entry. I once taught English in France, and as one of the only Americans in the department, I was often asked to explain just what the hell we mean when we say things such as "whatever" or "duh" or "pants," or to explain that in the US it's mostly cowboys who use the word "reckon."

I remember having to explain the expression "I was like..." meaning either "I said to my interlocuter," or "I thought, but did not say, for fear of being throttled." Often, we have to specify what we mean, particularly when we were only thinking the thing we were like, and did not actually say it, like this:

"He told me to get out of his way or he'd pound me, and I was like 'yeah, right. You get out of MY way, why don't you?' I didn't actually SAY that, but I was thinking it..."

It's particularly annoying, because if you live in this country, it's very diffucult to avoid using this expression, and like I find myself like doing it all the time.

There are many ways, good or bad, that Americans have simplified the English language. However this latest addition of the word like has got to be one of the worst.

So it can allow you to express things that you may not have said and only thought...what the hell is wrong with "and i thought to myslef..."?

Yes it may allow you to give emphasis to something that would otherwise sound bland...a great excuse not to use your brain in finding a more appropriate synonym.

And yes it indeed allows you to refer to what you said in the past without having to recall your speech word for word.

Thus we have the following:

When he asked me to leave i thought "there is no way i am doing that" but then he took out a gun and said he was going to count to ten! So I just shouted at Richard to finish his drink and we left immediately.

Or, in the USA:

So he like asked me to like, leave, and i was like "no way man!" but he had like a gun he took out and he was like "i'm gonna count to ten" and i was like "finish your drink Richard" and we like left man!

In short, the word like in this kind of conversation is unnecessay, prevents you from developing better communication slills and frankly is very irritating. Some American influences on English are not so bad, and i have adopted them myself in everyday speech, but not this one! I am amazed that you as a teacher of English rely so much on such a primitive form of communication.

I think the second example, in the Californian dialect, is far richer than the other British English example, especially in the context in which I'd expect to find it. It also communicates a great deal more about the attitude and character of the speaker, and his/her relationship with the other person.

> the word like in this kind of conversation is unnecessary

Nesseccity has nothing to do with grammar or dialect, other than the simple necessity of making sense, which both these excerpts do, perfectly well. May of the words in sentences can be considered to be unnecessary (if leave out, still make sense..) but they are leftin as grammatical and parsing clues. 'Like' in this case is being used to indicate, variously, contempt, indecision, and opposition to the ideas expressed in the sentence. It's extremely versatile, and something that British English is only just now receiving.

> prevents you from developing better communication skills

Linguistic relativism - i.e. the idea that language shapes us, and not the other way round - was thoroughly disproved in about 1960. Chomsky, Pinker, etc...

> frankly is very irritating

Opinion. I like it myself; or at least appreciate its use. And so do the people who use it natively, I suppose, or they wouldn't use it.

> rely so much on such a primitive form of communication

There's nothing primitive about American dialiect. It is exactly as diverse and complex as our British set of dialects.

It's a good way of being vague about a situation... For instance, when bragging to friends, people have a tendency to say things such as (or like) "he told me he didn't like my face, and I was like 'shove it, dude'..." Perhaps it is because simply revealing that you merely thought the expression "shove it, dude" is less impressive than to imply that you may have actually had the nerve to say it, even though you may clarify what you meant after making the initial statement.

I think it's unfair of you to accuse me of relying so heavily on the usage of such phrases. For one, I do not constantly use this expression. I'm not from California. It's simply one of those things that creeps into your everyday language, and that itself changes depending on your situation--what is the context of the conversation, who are you talking to--that sort of thing. There are similar regionalisms everywhere that people unconsciously adopt in their everyday speech.

Also, when teaching in a foreign country, where I have to be clear, I speak much more "correctly," with regards to pronunciation, grammar, etc. I have certain habits which annoy even me, and I made a point to demonstrate this to the class. My purpose was to help people improve their communication skills, and this includes giving examples of less-than-standard expressions and proninciation. For example, one of the things I find myself doing is mispronouncing the word "probably." I mentioned to my students that many English speakers, at least in the US, say "prob'ly." I am even worse. I catch myself saying what sounds like "PRAH-ee." I hate when I do this.

Then again, it is my problem, and shouldn't irritate someone who's never met me.

'And I thought to myself' is totally unacceptable phrasing for Southern California, because it implies to the listener that you are, indeed, thinking.

This is automatic grounds for social ostracism. There's more to it, though.

No one is really interested in what you are thinking, they are actors/movie biz people, and they are only deeply thinking about themselves. This is widely understood, that people are only thinking self-interested thoughts, so no one would seriously attempt to burden anyone with their true thoughts. By using your phrase 'and I thought to myself', you would be making a rude faux pas.

LOL! Way to dispel one prejudice by simply using another!

What replacement predjudice? I do admit some good humor, and I laugh at myself and the world I live in.

I am a native California boy, I live here, and I socialize a lot. If an alien were to pop in to visit, he'd be better off acting as if my explanation for the idiosyncracies of the word 'like' was true, rather than the more erudite ones above.

Consider my answer a 'practical travel guide' answer.

Hi

I agree that it often means "and I thought to myself," but it is also "and my reaction was".

When we say something often, we want to say it in a short and easily understandable form, so by convention everyone recognises "I was like..." to mean:

"what I am about to say is how I reacted at the time. I am going to repeat the reaction to show you how it was."

This allows you to 'act out' the reaction, rather than describe it, which seems to me to be a valid form of communication.

It seems perfectly natural, if you find yourself doing this often, that you would develop a succinct way to introduce it: "I was... I was... well, I was like, "No, I do not accept what you're saying!"

Whatever the pros and cons, I tend to think that the spoken language has never been the same as the written, 'literary' language, in terms of grammar, vocab, or usage, and writers of English in the USA, Britain and all over the world are constantly demonstrating the beauty, richness and versatility of our language - however they choose to use the word "like".

I have observed Spaceman Spiff's meaning of 'like' here also, it can be a very effective kinesthetic shorthand, that is hard to describe with words.

I am jealous it didn't occur to me to add that one in.

Why, thank you, Spaceman. I am like, "you're one smart chap."