Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Like - Newspaper article.

I had meant to bring this article to the attention of the Real some while
back, but sadly it seems to have slipped into out-of-sight-out-of-mind
folder. However, it might be of interest to some. The undersigned has a
particularly intense love/hate relationship with the word under discussion.
I remain, as always, etc., ecc.,
Bambi
dtb
Associated Press, September 07, 2002
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - This is, like, way cool.
A Temple University linguist says there's a lot to like about "like" - the
crutch word of teenagers and the bane of language purists. Muffy E.A.
Siegel, who has published a scholarly study of the word, says "like" is not
mindless filler, but can actually impart meaning.
"Like" in its slang form has been around for decades, but came to the
attention of linguists in the mid-1980s after it was popularized by Southern
California "Valley Girls" ("Like, gag me with a spoon.").
The Valley Girl version of "like" is classified by linguists as a "discourse
particle," along with "um," "well," "oh" and the like.
Unlike mere fillers, however, "like" has the ability to change the meaning
of a sentence, according to Siegel's research, which builds on the findings
of at least two other studies of the word.
For example, "like" can be a hedge, when the speaker is not quite sure what
he or she is about to say is accurate. (Example: "He has, like, six
 sisters.")
Siegel and other linguists have identified a variety of other uses for the
word like: a substitute for said; a way to introduce an exaggeration ("He's,
like, 150 years old."); and, yes, a filler when the speaker is casting about
for just the right words.
"That's the word you use when you can't think of anything else to say.
During a story, people use 'like' a lot to keep the story going instead of
pausing," said Molly Pardue, 17, a high school student from Devon, Pa.
"Teachers will stop us and be like, `Do you know what you just said?'"
Siegel's own daughters provided the inspiration for her study, published in
the Aug. 19 issue of the Journal of Semantics. Their speech was littered
with "likes," and Siegel began to wonder whether there was some greater
meaning.
At first, Siegel conducted formal, one-on-one interviews. But she soon
abandoned that approach because her teenage subjects were using too few
"likes."
Fortunately, Siegel's older daughter Miriam happened to be doing a school
project in which she asked classmates a single question: "What is an
individual?"
Those 23 tape-recorded interviews - conducted informally in school hallways,
classrooms, even the girls' locker room - formed the basis of Siegel's
research. Fourteen of the students used "like" at least once. Siegel's own
daughter also used it.
Siegel turned her linguist's mind to the transcripts. Her findings largely
involve mathematical formulas and esoteric linguistic concepts such as
"truth-conditions" and the "weak/strong distinction." Essentially, though,
Siegel's claim is that "like" can change the meaning of a sentence.
"It's a big deal to linguists because the assumption has always been that
all the meaning in a sentence comes from the real words in the sentence,"
Siegel said.
Nancy Niedzielski, a linguistics professor at Rice University, said
linguists won't be horrified by Siegel's defence of "like."
"Linguists tend to be much less prescriptive than other people who look at
language," she said.
Niedzielski said like it or not, "like" is probably here to stay.
"It doesn't matter what parents or editors or English teachers say."

 wrote in message
news:N5hr9.10733$6n3.3...@news1.tin.it...


"truth-conditions" and the "weak/strong distinction."
Yeah...right..LIKE we care.  I am reading this article and I'm LIKE who gives a
@#$%?.  IT's LIKE the most boring thing in the world.
Just kidding Bambi!...it's a totally interesting article and I am totally in
agreement with the author.  *Like* is totally here to stay.
ciao
GFC

 agreement with the author.  *Like* is totally here to stay.
Sbaglio, o equivale al nostro "cioč", di sessantottina memoria ?...
:-)))
--
Er Roscio.


PS
I'm doing this for your own sake, I can see a royal shadow over you
already. Watch out, she's coming!!!

(What's the equivalent 'sentence-filler' in Italian? "Quindi"? "Comunque"?)
The equivalent, IMHO, is often "tipo", as in "Quello avrà, tipo,
centocinquant'anni" oppure "Mah, saranno, tipo, sei fratelli" (I'm
using the examples in the original as an inspiration).
As an aside, when you respond to a post, please do not leave the
original message there in its entirety. It's useless and a waste of
resources. Thank you,
-- 
Isa
Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching
http://web.tiscali.it/alfabeto_auschwitz/index.htm

already. Watch out, she's coming!!!
Hey gal, are you, like, talking to me, hmm?
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resources. Thank you,
That's predictability...
LOL
CC

Hey gal, are you, like, talking to me, hmm?
Who? me?
I would never dare...never!
--------------------------------------running away------------------>
CC

 
That's right, and in Spanish it's "che", which is how Ernesto Guevara
got his nickname.
-- 
Mary

 wrote in message:


And of course you know, I'm like, joking! ;-))))
And of course, you know, you, like, did it again. Do have a look at
group's FAQ, will you? Thanks.


group's FAQ, will you? Thanks.
;).
And, btw, just popped in my mind the word "praticamente". Kinda the
same of cioè, you know, praticamente, that stuff about the quoting,
cioè, it's important, praticamente, you know, just to read easily the
ng, cioè, dear miss JSK, cioè, and I am answering to Isabella Z, but
her quoting is flawless, cioè, you have to undestand that when you
reply to someone on usenet you have to write your answer *under* the
quote, cioè you have not to write first your answer leaving the quote
at the end, you know. Now, if some of you is so kind to come here to
free my fingers, becouse they're all knotted for this messy sentence.
Sebastiano
--
Rachel: Yes, my wind. How do you expect me to grow if you won't let me blow?
Ross: You... you know I... I don't have a... have a problem with that.

 at the end, you know.
I don't know what newsreader most people here use, but I use Outlook
Express.  When you view messages in OE, you see the top first, and it's a
bit of a pain in the ass to scroll all the way down past the '>'s, searching
desperately for little segments without '>'s.  What I personally like to do
is copy and paste the sections of a particular posting and insert them into
my posting as necessary.  That's my favoured style ... do we have a 'clash'
in posting styles here?  Maybe we should bring in Kofi Annan... :-)
As for forgetting to delete the original message at the bottom ... what can
I say ...?  I sometimes forget to do this because I might have other things
in mind ... you know, like, what to eat for my tea, what to buy my pet
tarantula for Christmas, the terrible state of our modern global village
plagued with terrorism, and most importantly, the awful collapse of the
Azzurri last night to the Welsh!  Phew - it's not surprising a girl
sometimes to forget to tidy up her newsgroup postings!
Howz that for perfect newsgroup etiquette / mannerism . quoting ... whatever
else you want to call it?
Jo@nna
:-)))

else you want to call it?
Perfect :)


 And of course you know, I'm like, joking! ;-))))
Indeed I do.
Welcome.



Bambi, are you really a native Italian speaker?!  If you are, might I just
say that your English is toooooo good!!!  I'll comment further after your
response.... (if you're really a native Italian, be prepared for torrents of
praise in my next posting!) :-)
Jo@nna

 praise in my next posting!) :-)
Dear Joanna,
Perfect quoting!
My thanks for your kind words. Would that I could lay claim to being Italian
and having the ability to express myself as I do in a foreign language. I
shall spare all from my poor attempts at (non)eloquently writing in Italian,
a task at which, alas, I fail miserably.
I am a dtb. Once your schedule allows you to find a few minutes to navigate
thither and peruse, I believe many mysteries will be revealed and questions
answered. Prompted (oh-so-subtly) by your goodself, I remembered to post
their address under separate cover earlier this day.
In wishing you a good day, I remain, as always, etc., ecc.,
Bambi
dtb

 dtb
I did indeed find the time to peruse the world of the 'Realm', an entity
that I had no idea existed until about 15 mins ago.  After reading (the
English parts :-)) I realise I have broken many rules.  I refer in
particular to a posting by your good self to one 'Loki', when you explained
that it.cultura.linguistica.inglese was not merely a 'newsgroup' - that it
merited its own web site and HRMs and ... I'm going to have to find more
time to figure out exactly what delightful little 'world' I have been
strolling carelessly through for the mast month!
Everything makes sense now ... the quaint little formalities, the lack of
hostility not to mention the unusual supply of intellect.
I'm smiling in wonder like a child who's just stumbled upon the entrance to
Wonderland ... I will enjoy exploring this interesting little world over the
coming days ....
:-)
Yours humbly,
A curious-but-in-a-good-way Miss JCK

I say...? 
Um, try and remember? Thanks, Jo.
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hostility not to mention the unusual supply of intellect.
You're too kind, darling :-)
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the Usenet for all those who know whet they're doing :-)
                                     ^
Freudian slip? I should think so. That should have been "what", of
course.
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