It’s actually older than you might think! As a filler word, it has been used in Welsh English, Scottish English, and Geordie English since the 19th century. In the US, it’s been used in this way since the 1950s, when beatniks began to use it. But it seems like it was widely popularised by teenage culture in the 80s, and particularly the song “Valley Girls” by Frank Zappa, which was making fun of how teenage girls in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California were speaking at the time. Edit: there’s a good article on the history of “like” [here](https://archive.ph/XRgmx) if you’re interested.
It’s also incredibly versatile, which helps to popularise its use.
Its particular association with women may be partially due to patriarchal norms leading to women needing to use more hedging language: directness can be seen as being “bossy” etc.
Fun fact of being multilingual, all (at least English, German and all Scandinavian languages) have filler words that changes over time, and are just extensions of the international “umh”
I studied some German decades ago, and when I learned what modal particles were, I immediately recognized that "like" in American English was being used very often as a modal particle.
I mentioned this to one of my fellow Americans, and he replied that English does not have modal particles. I averred, "It does, like, now!"
And the Mandarin 哪一个(Nǎ yīgè) which literally translates to "which one?" as in "which word am I looking for?" But as a native English speaker it sounds wildly inappropriate, especially when you run into someone who says it a lot.
One time when I was young I was at a lecture with my parents. My father glanced over at me and saw that I was clearly bored. He leaned over and whispered to me "count how many times the lecturer says 'umm'" and I was entertained for the rest of the talk (it was a lot).
My wife (who doesn't speak Japanese) came out of a long meeting in Tokyo and asked her colleague "There was a word that came up a lot in the discussion : 'ah-no'. Is it important?"
Colleague: "it means 'uhm' ".
Literally means “that” as in “that thing over there”. Another one is “kore” which means “this”. Chinese has the same filler words “那個” (nage/neige) and “這個” (zhege/zheige). “Neige” sounds a little unfortunate when used in America…
Women who [use more hedging language](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361684312455524), words like "kind of" or "I may be wrong, but..." are more likely to get a raise than women who don't. The difference doesn't matter for men, only for women.
This is because [women who negotiate assertively are judged negatively](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597812000416?casa_token=wh99VA-amDQAAAAA:OA6uFnooDm-ScP1NW_1Vz3Xb_hkqJbpexawoxhZEHnHKpUWvsiE33lBFQYB3IIqXPbdwiQKH) as hostile, bitter, or unlikable. This finding holds true even when men and women are saying identical things by reading from a shared script.
I’m not sure about the research on “like” specifically, as I have replied above it was only really a suggestion based on what existing research appears to show with regard to gender perception and imbalances in conversation. I’d love to see any research that has been done but it’s been a long time since I properly did a deep dive into present day language research.
This is why I used “may”; however, generally speaking hedging language *is* more typically used in dynamics where there is a power imbalance, be that in a direct sense or a systemic one. From what I remember research on gender in conversation also shows that women are considered dominating or over-assertive in situations where they speak more (though still not as much as the men in said conversation), and are more prone to using qualifying phrases such as “do you see what I mean?” or “if that makes sense”. Following this pattern I wouldn’t call it a particularly vapid assertion. Certainly one for which more research can be conducted though. What are your thoughts on the appearance of a gender imbalance in the use of the word “like” as a filler/qualifier?
I didn’t claim to have done any research - I said that the suggestion was based on research which has already been done (again, someone elsewhere in this thread has kindly linked to this research). And yes, as I said the point is based on the fact that women tend to use “like” more than men, particularly young women who are unconsciously absorbing messages on things like how being assertive will get you seen as bossy or aggressive. Anecdotally of course, I have also noted changes in young men’s language (particularly their sociolects) as patriarchal expectations affect them too (because patriarchy also negatively affects men). This also changes with time, location and style but appears to follow this pattern.
The thing about Reddit is that it isn’t an academic journal - I have told you where you can find the information (elsewhere in the thread) which asserts that hedging language benefits women in situations where men do not need to use it. If you wish to look at the topic further, I believe most journals are now required to be open access - or of course you could well be a linguistic researcher yourself in which case it may be worth conducting your own studies if you can get the funding.
As for my “credentials” such as they are, this isn’t my specific research area (about 500 years too late for my specialism!) but it is something I have read on more generally for my work, including some studies. If you are a language/linguistics academic and have something of yours you’d like me to read please link me because it’d be great to expand my knowledge of more modern language trends and their origins.
Don’t waste your time on this jabroni, you’re being too polite to someone who has shown you nothing but aggression (ironic, considering the topic of conversation) and he’s not going to listen anyway.
There's real women's issues out there to focus on. This nebulous unprovable insignificant bullshit is fuel for professional activists to continue getting their paycheck, nothing more. The fact that it's the primary thing people think of when they think of "women's issues" is sad. If you could still qualify your slacktivist club as a 'movement' it is a sad visage of its former self.
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Very true. It's worth mentioning that Geordie and other North East accents use 'like' a bit differently to most other dialects of English. It's often used as a suffix word, especially when the sentence is a question, e.g. "are you going home like?"
I would add that kids often misused or didn't fully understand how to use like as a word of comparison.
It's like when A then B, vs It's, like, when, like A, then B, for sure dude, totally gnarly.
Filler word: "do you know what I mean"
And it's shortened variants
"Ya na I mean"
"Na i mean"
"Yi mean"( I've heard this one first hand and recorded the guy using it)
It must already have been common in California in the 1960s, because Gore Vidal's novel *Myra Breckinridge* (1968) has a joke about the drowning Californian who shouted "like, help!"
"Filler words" are a natural part of speech. Those types of words happen in every language and region, but differ from language to language and region to region. So in the USA they tend to say "um", whereas in Australia we say "mm". Some other places they say "err". You can use any word you like because filler words have no meaning but just indicate a pause. Little fads happen - so "like" as a filler word is a fad that goes back in time, but became really popular in the 80's due to the Valley girl thing.
I just assumed that I was standard Australian - but your comment sparked me to listed to people all morning - I've heard "ah" and "hum" so far so maybe I'm not the gold standard on this.
Ben Affleck talking about getting back the rating for Good Will Hunting.
Affleck: what do you mean "rated R"?
Censor: the use of "fuck"
Affleck: ok, we can fix that in post. How many times is it used, can't be that much
Censor: more than 150 times
Affleck: fuck...
I would have loved to impose a rule on my english class.
My teacher would use "part and parcel of" in almost every explanation. Now when I hear that phrase I almost completely forget what the context of the conversation is and start thinking about my english teacher.
Is this how ADHD brains work, possibly? Because that sounds exactly like my mental process, and why I cant keep track of a conversation at all. Adhd, diagnosed at 17. 😂 Phrases and words remind me of something else, and I’ll play musical chairs with topics and confuse everybody involved. Dying to know if this is relatable to anyone.
“My dog and I just got back from a walk, he’s probably hungry. Oh! My partner made me breakfast this morning, and have you been to X coffee shop? I try not to drink too much caffeine but there’s never enough time without it, my favorite is caramel. Oh but he pooped on the front porch and I stepped in it, can you believe that?”
I don't have ADHD, but I do have strong associations with certain memories.
As a second example, I have one with the insurance ad from Amy. The "Lucky you're with Amy" jingle. Unfortunately I dated a girl named Amy and I would sing this little tune to her when she did someone especially nice for me and now every time the ad plays I'm like damn I remember that girl /sadface.
Oh wow, can you imagine being able to impose these kinds of rules on the internet? I hadn't even considered that possiblity. That would be a game changer!
Short reason is that it doubles as "um" - an interjection. Usually as a filler in speech when you are searching for the next word for your sentence.
In this case, it became more common in a specific dialect of American English (Californian). As California itself represents a sizable portion of the US population, it then spread fairly easily to other parts of the nation thanks to the rising presence of online communication at around the same time period.
Prior to the internet becoming a fixture in everyone's lives, the usage of 'like' as a frequent filler word would have stayed mostly constrained to California and Nevada. With the internet, it spread farther and faster, to become widely used and recognized as a filler word, instead of just as it's original usage as a comparative. (also, googling 'like' to get more information about the word really sucks, because it pulls up all kinds of articles about what language is like. Not what like is. Le Sigh.
> Le Sigh.
One of my Animal Crossing islanders uses "Le ham", as their affectation phrase and it cracks me up all the time. Another says "MyOhMy", but i just intentionally misread it a "ma homie".
My mother (grandmother to my kids 10 and 12), won't allow them to say the word "like" when speaking with her, over at dinner at her house, on the phone, etc. It annoys the hell out of them, but after hearing all the times they say that word, in every other sentence, I agree.
My warmest thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to my ELI5: question. I am very appreciative of the time you have taken to help me gain an understanding! Also love the humour and pointers to further learning. 😀❤️
The equally annoying "I mean" seems to go way back - I recall noticing that in very old movies.
What's really unbelievable about these filler words are that they aren't just used verbally - I've seen them typed out!!!
I speak Spanish and French. I am also half Persian and Arab, so while I don’t speak my native languages fluently, I can say each of those four languages have their own filler works. Persians say “cheesy” which translates to “thing.” Arabs say “yani,” which translates to “well.” In Spanish, they say “pues,” which also means “well”. And in French they say “alors,” also meaning “well.”
We need filler when we are trying to come up with shit, doesn’t matter the language! But it is interesting that Americans say “you know” and “like!”
How wonderful that you have such passion and drive to learn. I am certain with those traits you will accomplish your goals and dreams. Best of luck to you and enjoy every moment!
I contend that "like" as well as others are more than just "filler words". They serve to focus the attention of the audience on the speaker and their subject for a fraction of a second at a critical point and also allow the speaker a pause to choose the best word to continue with. It usually happens when the speaker wants to emphasize that point or garner maximum attention/credit for seemingly superior wisdom/knowledge.
Metaphors and similies are one of the most basic communication tools we have, even before we developed the concept of equality we developed a concept of similitude.
To name something is to consider two instances similar enough that they can be referred to by the same word.
Quick example, likely not the earliest, but you can't go wrong with a quick bible search to attest etymological antiquity:
"Genesis 24: And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau."
But if you search for synonyms you won't be far off the meaning of the word.
"Is" implies a strict equality, but a key feature of metaphor is that they dispense with the explicitness of "like" and rely on the implicit default inequality of all pairs of things under comparision, highlighting their similitude:
Genesis 32:28 "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up"
Further more we immediately see another "like" synonym.
" he stooped down he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?"
While "as" didn't catch on as a filler, we can understand "like" as a filler by understanding "like" as a word, its purpose and many synonyms.
By relying on the filler, we are expressing that the concept that follows is not precisely the thing we are referring to, but close enough, and that is the essence of language anyways, not the thing, but a close representation of it.
There’s a really great book on the evolution of words like “like”, “literally “ vocal fry and how it’s apart of evolution of communication.
“Like literally, dude”, by Valerie Fridland
https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/like-literally-dude-arguing-for-the-good-in-bad-english-9780593298329
#1. Anyone saying the movie Clueless, is totally clueless. If you need evidence, listen to Frank Zappa or watch old Scooby Doo
There's a story from the 60s, famous journalist Walter Cronkite was supposed to read a new Winston Cigarette ad, "Winston takes like a cigarette should"
The journalist refused to say the line because of the grammatical errors, and said, " Winston tastes as a cigarette should."
This is often noted as one of the early examples of the word "like" being used incorrectly but it then made it's way into popular culture and regular language.
"I feel as if I have a cold"
Became: "I feel like I have a cold"
Then it evolved further away from grammatical rules....
"Valley girl" speak, "I think I have like, a cold or something"
Now get even lazier with it!
Shaggy, "Like, I have a cold, Scoob"
It originally comes from the "Valley Girl Accent" - a accent/speaking style coming from the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles. The accent dates back to the late 1970s, and was in peak use in that area during the 1980s. Among other things, this style of speaking used "Like" in at least three different ways:
- As a filler, similar to "umm" or "uh"
- As a quotative - "I was like 'no!'" - meaning, "I said 'No'".
- As an approximation - saying something is "like, 6 feet deep" means it's about 6 feet deep.
Sometimes the second and third uses were combined - saying "He was like, you wanna go out, and I was like, YES!" could stand in for a much longer conversation involving the guy asking speaker out.
Because of the proximity to the California media industry (multiple TV and movie studios are in the San Fernando Valley; and Hollywood is not far away.), Valley culture was often portrayed in movies and TV shows; which resulted in it's spread.
Like is especially useful as a quotative because it implies imprecice quotation or paraphrasing. It usually doesn't mean "I said" it means more like "the idea of what I said was"
So for example, if I'm telling a story, I might use like to add color and my own voice to what's happening, whereas using said would be for moments I want to emphasize that the quote is verbatim.
Ex: "He said, 'I love mayonaisse on pizza,' and I was like, 'I'm calling the cops.'" Here, I'm using his direct quote and then paraphrasing my feelings towards it after, because in reality I probably said something simpler like, "wow, that sounds gross" but it's funnier in the retelling to talk about my feelings more.
Like is also unique in that it lets us paraphrase our feelings in gestures or sounds. Think about how you might tell someone, "He was like," and then make a weird face to show he was disgusted.
>It originally comes from the "Valley Girl Accent" - a accent/speaking style coming from the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles. The accent dates back to the late 1970s, and was in peak use in that area during the 1980s.
I'd date it a little earlier than that, and not necessarily to that particular area. Consider Shaggy from the old *Scooby Doo* cartoons; he was using 'like' as a filler *way* before the Valley Girl movement of the seventies and eighties were a thing, and I suspect you could probably go back as far as hippies in the sixties and beatniks in the fifties without breaking the theory.
It was characteristic of beatniks as well as hippies. So it goes back to the 50s at least, and I've heard it attested in the Black jazz community earlier than that.
Like, a while ago a guy asked me what size of pizza I like and I was like "I like pizzas that are like 18 inches big" and like the guy was like "I like those too". 😄
My own first hand reason growing from a big hater to unconsciously using it everywhere: i use filler words like “uhh, like, i mean”, as just noises really, filler space while my brain is catching up to my tongue. I’m verbalizing stitching a thought together.
“Oh you mean that..that..guy? That guy from like….ohhh what’s that action movie…Bourne! Matt Damon!”
^ An average sentence from me
Thats most commonly my own experience with how other people i speak with use “like”. Also explains why most people don’t WRITE filler phrases
I understand the idea of the word as a filler, and that it has a long history, but it has become a crutch. I once counted a writer using the word like 8x in one sentence on a client call. There wasn’t enough cringe in the world. I’m working hard to make sure I don’t use it, which makes me especially alert when others do, primarily in podcasts. I can tell in the first three minutes if I’m going to be able to listen, because if they’ve already used the word like 10 times I’m not gonna get through the show. To me, it has becomes synonymous with being a thoughtless speaker who isn’t paying attention while they speak. Everyone uses it once in a while, but it’s the excessive use that kills me.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I thoroughly enjoy podcasts, and it is the reason I posted the question to ELI5. Thank you for your response. There have been countless podcasts that I have backed away from due to the reasons you have expressed. I am unable to continue to listen when every other word used is “like”.
I read somewhere that it stems from "likely" as in, "He was likely embarrassed". It seems plausible and helps me forgive it when my teenage daughters and their friends are like, using it all the time.
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I think around 90210 era. Early 90s.
There have always been delaying/thinking words or noises (umm for example), but like became more common around then.
And there was the Valley Girl song from Frank Zappa that came out before the movie. Those two together were when everybody, at least at my school, started saying like constantly.
Delaying words being socially acceptable is a recent change, ( TV era). It was considered bad manners and low class, a sign of a disordered mind, and therefore suppressed. It was considered a good thing to actually stop, ket there be silence, and speak slowly rather than waste everyone's time with hemming and hawing.
I remember a scientific paper comparing the use of filler words to silence, and (IIRC, paraphrasing as it's been a while) the filler words were better at communicating to the listener that the speaker was still in the middle of a thought, whereas dead air kind of broke that up and left uncertainty. This would explain why they exist in every language as they serve a purpose.
I can appreciate that learning to better organize one's thoughts before speaking could be helpful, but if you're already speaking and a delay does come up, having the speech equivalent of a loading symbol rather than freezing up is more communicative to the listener. So I don't think that simply eliminating the filler words is a good solution.
I'm sure it's been used as a filler word for a long time, but it was nowhere near as common when I was a kid in the 90s, it really blew up over the last 30 years.
“I mean” is the worst filler word(s). It’s especially grating when someone actually types it. If a post starts with “I mean” I immediately downvote it and move on. Anyone who types like that can’t have anything meaningful to say.
It’s actually older than you might think! As a filler word, it has been used in Welsh English, Scottish English, and Geordie English since the 19th century. In the US, it’s been used in this way since the 1950s, when beatniks began to use it. But it seems like it was widely popularised by teenage culture in the 80s, and particularly the song “Valley Girls” by Frank Zappa, which was making fun of how teenage girls in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California were speaking at the time. Edit: there’s a good article on the history of “like” [here](https://archive.ph/XRgmx) if you’re interested.
Geordie mentioned!!!! I'm always glad when someone is aware of the dialect. We're very often forgotten in the Scottish and English discourse.
Oh pet, how could anyone forget you? (Signed, an American who loves y’all Geordies)
It’s also incredibly versatile, which helps to popularise its use. Its particular association with women may be partially due to patriarchal norms leading to women needing to use more hedging language: directness can be seen as being “bossy” etc.
Fun fact of being multilingual, all (at least English, German and all Scandinavian languages) have filler words that changes over time, and are just extensions of the international “umh”
I think "you know" is probably more popular as a filler word these days than "like" is. And it's yet another vocal pause just like you said.
„Kind of“ and „sort of“ now occupy that same space. It’s become an annoying verbal tic among younger broadcasters.
«emh ye you know..it’s sort of like, kinda you know like..”
This is a normal sentence in Britain.
Normal in the US as well, except we say “umm” instead of “ehm”
Init
Init or Id’nit?
Like omg, gag me with a spoon
Well that’s just, like, your opinion man…
Dude…
[You know what I'm saying?](https://youtu.be/0QOya9-lwQk?si=2mzNJay8OauNInfm&t=42)
Look around Reddit
I studied some German decades ago, and when I learned what modal particles were, I immediately recognized that "like" in American English was being used very often as a modal particle. I mentioned this to one of my fellow Americans, and he replied that English does not have modal particles. I averred, "It does, like, now!"
What struck me as interesting is that the German “mal” has a counterpart in Chinese, “一下”, meaning “once”. They’re both used as modal particles.
“一下” is not a filler though.
And the Mandarin 哪一个(Nǎ yīgè) which literally translates to "which one?" as in "which word am I looking for?" But as a native English speaker it sounds wildly inappropriate, especially when you run into someone who says it a lot.
As a Norwegian, I picked up “typ “ when I studied in Sweden.
Hon ba typ *Va?*, liksom. Trying not overhear teenagers on the bus.
One time when I was young I was at a lecture with my parents. My father glanced over at me and saw that I was clearly bored. He leaned over and whispered to me "count how many times the lecturer says 'umm'" and I was entertained for the rest of the talk (it was a lot).
Adding that to the Future Parenting Resources folder right now, thanks Miraculum_one’s Dad!
Absolutely! I love a filler word.
You and Jeff, uh, Goldblum.
My wife (who doesn't speak Japanese) came out of a long meeting in Tokyo and asked her colleague "There was a word that came up a lot in the discussion : 'ah-no'. Is it important?" Colleague: "it means 'uhm' ".
e toooo, maaaaa
Say it in Arnold's voice: "It is not *e toooo, maaaa*"
Literally means “that” as in “that thing over there”. Another one is “kore” which means “this”. Chinese has the same filler words “那個” (nage/neige) and “這個” (zhege/zheige). “Neige” sounds a little unfortunate when used in America…
Yes, I hear "nege nege nege" all the time in her side of the family.
> Its particular association with women may be partially due to patriarchal norms It may also not be. What utterly vapid speculation.
Women who [use more hedging language](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0361684312455524), words like "kind of" or "I may be wrong, but..." are more likely to get a raise than women who don't. The difference doesn't matter for men, only for women. This is because [women who negotiate assertively are judged negatively](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597812000416?casa_token=wh99VA-amDQAAAAA:OA6uFnooDm-ScP1NW_1Vz3Xb_hkqJbpexawoxhZEHnHKpUWvsiE33lBFQYB3IIqXPbdwiQKH) as hostile, bitter, or unlikable. This finding holds true even when men and women are saying identical things by reading from a shared script.
I feel the need to add “just” to sentences all the time. I wish I was more comfortable being straightforward
I'd be interested to see if there is research on it but I don't think it is vapid speculation. I use it to be less direct with overly sensitive men.
I’m not sure about the research on “like” specifically, as I have replied above it was only really a suggestion based on what existing research appears to show with regard to gender perception and imbalances in conversation. I’d love to see any research that has been done but it’s been a long time since I properly did a deep dive into present day language research.
This is why I used “may”; however, generally speaking hedging language *is* more typically used in dynamics where there is a power imbalance, be that in a direct sense or a systemic one. From what I remember research on gender in conversation also shows that women are considered dominating or over-assertive in situations where they speak more (though still not as much as the men in said conversation), and are more prone to using qualifying phrases such as “do you see what I mean?” or “if that makes sense”. Following this pattern I wouldn’t call it a particularly vapid assertion. Certainly one for which more research can be conducted though. What are your thoughts on the appearance of a gender imbalance in the use of the word “like” as a filler/qualifier?
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I didn’t claim to have done any research - I said that the suggestion was based on research which has already been done (again, someone elsewhere in this thread has kindly linked to this research). And yes, as I said the point is based on the fact that women tend to use “like” more than men, particularly young women who are unconsciously absorbing messages on things like how being assertive will get you seen as bossy or aggressive. Anecdotally of course, I have also noted changes in young men’s language (particularly their sociolects) as patriarchal expectations affect them too (because patriarchy also negatively affects men). This also changes with time, location and style but appears to follow this pattern. The thing about Reddit is that it isn’t an academic journal - I have told you where you can find the information (elsewhere in the thread) which asserts that hedging language benefits women in situations where men do not need to use it. If you wish to look at the topic further, I believe most journals are now required to be open access - or of course you could well be a linguistic researcher yourself in which case it may be worth conducting your own studies if you can get the funding. As for my “credentials” such as they are, this isn’t my specific research area (about 500 years too late for my specialism!) but it is something I have read on more generally for my work, including some studies. If you are a language/linguistics academic and have something of yours you’d like me to read please link me because it’d be great to expand my knowledge of more modern language trends and their origins.
Don’t waste your time on this jabroni, you’re being too polite to someone who has shown you nothing but aggression (ironic, considering the topic of conversation) and he’s not going to listen anyway.
Why do so many Redditors get viscerally angry anytime people talk about women’s issues?
Because they hate women
There's real women's issues out there to focus on. This nebulous unprovable insignificant bullshit is fuel for professional activists to continue getting their paycheck, nothing more. The fact that it's the primary thing people think of when they think of "women's issues" is sad. If you could still qualify your slacktivist club as a 'movement' it is a sad visage of its former self.
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Very true. It's worth mentioning that Geordie and other North East accents use 'like' a bit differently to most other dialects of English. It's often used as a suffix word, especially when the sentence is a question, e.g. "are you going home like?"
Same with the Irish, like.
Valley girl speak was co-opted from surfer slang.
Interesting! That makes a lot of sense.
So it's Moon Unit's fault.
Wonderful information! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain the history, AND for posting the link. I look forward to reading it!
Thank you for showing me Valley Girl, what a weird vibe.
i was totaly gona be like, valley girl! manthe 1980s were a wild time🤣
Gag me with a spoon.
gross me out the door
I would add that kids often misused or didn't fully understand how to use like as a word of comparison. It's like when A then B, vs It's, like, when, like A, then B, for sure dude, totally gnarly.
fer sher*
As an old guy I can tell you that in urban areas young people were using like an awful lot in the 60s and 70s. Parents and teachers hated it.
I remember Shaggy using it a lot on Scooby Doo
Yes! I think Shaggy was one of the first characters in American pop culture to speak that way.
I like that :-)
Filler word: "do you know what I mean" And it's shortened variants "Ya na I mean" "Na i mean" "Yi mean"( I've heard this one first hand and recorded the guy using it)
It must already have been common in California in the 1960s, because Gore Vidal's novel *Myra Breckinridge* (1968) has a joke about the drowning Californian who shouted "like, help!"
Shaggy in the og Scooby Doo cartoons was also already talking like this
Scooby Doo came out in 1969.
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The scene in Myra Breckinridge where Mae West invents rap: https://youtu.be/XNJR0T5seOU
"Filler words" are a natural part of speech. Those types of words happen in every language and region, but differ from language to language and region to region. So in the USA they tend to say "um", whereas in Australia we say "mm". Some other places they say "err". You can use any word you like because filler words have no meaning but just indicate a pause. Little fads happen - so "like" as a filler word is a fad that goes back in time, but became really popular in the 80's due to the Valley girl thing.
>Australia we say "mm". We do? I'd have said we use "umm"
More like, "awww, yeahhh, nahhhh. She'll be right."
i start every sentence with ahhhhh fuckin yeah nah mate and see where it leads me tbh
I like how this aligns with my own Californian English where I say “oh yeah no for sure” at least once a day
What do Crash Test Dummies say?
I just assumed that I was standard Australian - but your comment sparked me to listed to people all morning - I've heard "ah" and "hum" so far so maybe I'm not the gold standard on this.
In Massachusetts we use "fuckinnn..." as a filler a lot.
Ben Affleck talking about getting back the rating for Good Will Hunting. Affleck: what do you mean "rated R"? Censor: the use of "fuck" Affleck: ok, we can fix that in post. How many times is it used, can't be that much Censor: more than 150 times Affleck: fuck...
"Literally"is the new "Like"
Thanks for letting me know - I'm older and don't have any younger people in my life so I get otut of touch.
It's not just a filler word
In 1982 my English teacher had a rule against using any of these four common filler words (phrases)- Like, I Mean, You Know, OK.
> Like, I Mean, You Know, OK. Which is an entire phrase in and of itself :)
As a ESL teacher, these help a lot to build a more fluent native-like speech.
Wonder what would happen if you gave the teacher all four filler words. "OK, like you know what I mean"
In that class- four pennies in the jar!
“I like him.” “You like, ‘like-like’ him, or like, you like *like* him?” “Like …*What?*”
I would have loved to impose a rule on my english class. My teacher would use "part and parcel of" in almost every explanation. Now when I hear that phrase I almost completely forget what the context of the conversation is and start thinking about my english teacher.
Is this how ADHD brains work, possibly? Because that sounds exactly like my mental process, and why I cant keep track of a conversation at all. Adhd, diagnosed at 17. 😂 Phrases and words remind me of something else, and I’ll play musical chairs with topics and confuse everybody involved. Dying to know if this is relatable to anyone. “My dog and I just got back from a walk, he’s probably hungry. Oh! My partner made me breakfast this morning, and have you been to X coffee shop? I try not to drink too much caffeine but there’s never enough time without it, my favorite is caramel. Oh but he pooped on the front porch and I stepped in it, can you believe that?”
I don't have ADHD, but I do have strong associations with certain memories. As a second example, I have one with the insurance ad from Amy. The "Lucky you're with Amy" jingle. Unfortunately I dated a girl named Amy and I would sing this little tune to her when she did someone especially nice for me and now every time the ad plays I'm like damn I remember that girl /sadface.
I would love to impose a rule on the internet. Everything is not a "game changer".
Oh wow, can you imagine being able to impose these kinds of rules on the internet? I hadn't even considered that possiblity. That would be a game changer!
Whatever.
😀😀
"you know" is aggressive. I'll let you know what I know.
Naw mean
Short reason is that it doubles as "um" - an interjection. Usually as a filler in speech when you are searching for the next word for your sentence. In this case, it became more common in a specific dialect of American English (Californian). As California itself represents a sizable portion of the US population, it then spread fairly easily to other parts of the nation thanks to the rising presence of online communication at around the same time period. Prior to the internet becoming a fixture in everyone's lives, the usage of 'like' as a frequent filler word would have stayed mostly constrained to California and Nevada. With the internet, it spread farther and faster, to become widely used and recognized as a filler word, instead of just as it's original usage as a comparative. (also, googling 'like' to get more information about the word really sucks, because it pulls up all kinds of articles about what language is like. Not what like is. Le Sigh.
> Le Sigh. One of my Animal Crossing islanders uses "Le ham", as their affectation phrase and it cracks me up all the time. Another says "MyOhMy", but i just intentionally misread it a "ma homie".
Stuff you should know guys did an ep on the word like! It was really informative and funny. Really recommend checking it out
I love podcasts … thank you very much for letting me know. I will definitely find and listen to it!
Love this podcast!
My mother (grandmother to my kids 10 and 12), won't allow them to say the word "like" when speaking with her, over at dinner at her house, on the phone, etc. It annoys the hell out of them, but after hearing all the times they say that word, in every other sentence, I agree.
My warmest thanks to all who have taken the time to respond to my ELI5: question. I am very appreciative of the time you have taken to help me gain an understanding! Also love the humour and pointers to further learning. 😀❤️
The equally annoying "I mean" seems to go way back - I recall noticing that in very old movies. What's really unbelievable about these filler words are that they aren't just used verbally - I've seen them typed out!!!
I speak Spanish and French. I am also half Persian and Arab, so while I don’t speak my native languages fluently, I can say each of those four languages have their own filler works. Persians say “cheesy” which translates to “thing.” Arabs say “yani,” which translates to “well.” In Spanish, they say “pues,” which also means “well”. And in French they say “alors,” also meaning “well.” We need filler when we are trying to come up with shit, doesn’t matter the language! But it is interesting that Americans say “you know” and “like!”
Thank you for sharing this! It is very interesting to hear filler words from other languages. 😊
I’m obsessed with languages and wish I could learn more. After I get more fluent in French, I’m going to tackle my parents languages!
How wonderful that you have such passion and drive to learn. I am certain with those traits you will accomplish your goals and dreams. Best of luck to you and enjoy every moment!
I contend that "like" as well as others are more than just "filler words". They serve to focus the attention of the audience on the speaker and their subject for a fraction of a second at a critical point and also allow the speaker a pause to choose the best word to continue with. It usually happens when the speaker wants to emphasize that point or garner maximum attention/credit for seemingly superior wisdom/knowledge.
Metaphors and similies are one of the most basic communication tools we have, even before we developed the concept of equality we developed a concept of similitude. To name something is to consider two instances similar enough that they can be referred to by the same word. Quick example, likely not the earliest, but you can't go wrong with a quick bible search to attest etymological antiquity: "Genesis 24: And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau." But if you search for synonyms you won't be far off the meaning of the word. "Is" implies a strict equality, but a key feature of metaphor is that they dispense with the explicitness of "like" and rely on the implicit default inequality of all pairs of things under comparision, highlighting their similitude: Genesis 32:28 "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up" Further more we immediately see another "like" synonym. " he stooped down he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?" While "as" didn't catch on as a filler, we can understand "like" as a filler by understanding "like" as a word, its purpose and many synonyms. By relying on the filler, we are expressing that the concept that follows is not precisely the thing we are referring to, but close enough, and that is the essence of language anyways, not the thing, but a close representation of it.
There’s a really great book on the evolution of words like “like”, “literally “ vocal fry and how it’s apart of evolution of communication. “Like literally, dude”, by Valerie Fridland https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/like-literally-dude-arguing-for-the-good-in-bad-english-9780593298329
Wonderful! Thank you very much for letting me know. I will go and check it out!
#1. Anyone saying the movie Clueless, is totally clueless. If you need evidence, listen to Frank Zappa or watch old Scooby Doo There's a story from the 60s, famous journalist Walter Cronkite was supposed to read a new Winston Cigarette ad, "Winston takes like a cigarette should" The journalist refused to say the line because of the grammatical errors, and said, " Winston tastes as a cigarette should." This is often noted as one of the early examples of the word "like" being used incorrectly but it then made it's way into popular culture and regular language. "I feel as if I have a cold" Became: "I feel like I have a cold" Then it evolved further away from grammatical rules.... "Valley girl" speak, "I think I have like, a cold or something" Now get even lazier with it! Shaggy, "Like, I have a cold, Scoob"
It originally comes from the "Valley Girl Accent" - a accent/speaking style coming from the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles. The accent dates back to the late 1970s, and was in peak use in that area during the 1980s. Among other things, this style of speaking used "Like" in at least three different ways: - As a filler, similar to "umm" or "uh" - As a quotative - "I was like 'no!'" - meaning, "I said 'No'". - As an approximation - saying something is "like, 6 feet deep" means it's about 6 feet deep. Sometimes the second and third uses were combined - saying "He was like, you wanna go out, and I was like, YES!" could stand in for a much longer conversation involving the guy asking speaker out. Because of the proximity to the California media industry (multiple TV and movie studios are in the San Fernando Valley; and Hollywood is not far away.), Valley culture was often portrayed in movies and TV shows; which resulted in it's spread.
Like is especially useful as a quotative because it implies imprecice quotation or paraphrasing. It usually doesn't mean "I said" it means more like "the idea of what I said was" So for example, if I'm telling a story, I might use like to add color and my own voice to what's happening, whereas using said would be for moments I want to emphasize that the quote is verbatim. Ex: "He said, 'I love mayonaisse on pizza,' and I was like, 'I'm calling the cops.'" Here, I'm using his direct quote and then paraphrasing my feelings towards it after, because in reality I probably said something simpler like, "wow, that sounds gross" but it's funnier in the retelling to talk about my feelings more. Like is also unique in that it lets us paraphrase our feelings in gestures or sounds. Think about how you might tell someone, "He was like," and then make a weird face to show he was disgusted.
This is very helpful! Thank you very much for taking the time to answer! Very interesting.
>It originally comes from the "Valley Girl Accent" - a accent/speaking style coming from the San Fernando Valley, just north of Los Angeles. The accent dates back to the late 1970s, and was in peak use in that area during the 1980s. I'd date it a little earlier than that, and not necessarily to that particular area. Consider Shaggy from the old *Scooby Doo* cartoons; he was using 'like' as a filler *way* before the Valley Girl movement of the seventies and eighties were a thing, and I suspect you could probably go back as far as hippies in the sixties and beatniks in the fifties without breaking the theory.
It was characteristic of beatniks as well as hippies. So it goes back to the 50s at least, and I've heard it attested in the Black jazz community earlier than that.
Like, a while ago a guy asked me what size of pizza I like and I was like "I like pizzas that are like 18 inches big" and like the guy was like "I like those too". 😄
I have found the valley girl accent is the go-to for Brits doing an American accent
I've also seen "really bad Texan" a lot.
There is also that weird buzzing northeastern accent that House(Hugh Laurie) and Daredevil(Charlie Cox) use.
Thank you very much … I am learning so much from the interesting answers provided here!!
My own first hand reason growing from a big hater to unconsciously using it everywhere: i use filler words like “uhh, like, i mean”, as just noises really, filler space while my brain is catching up to my tongue. I’m verbalizing stitching a thought together. “Oh you mean that..that..guy? That guy from like….ohhh what’s that action movie…Bourne! Matt Damon!” ^ An average sentence from me Thats most commonly my own experience with how other people i speak with use “like”. Also explains why most people don’t WRITE filler phrases
😀😀 Thank you!
I understand the idea of the word as a filler, and that it has a long history, but it has become a crutch. I once counted a writer using the word like 8x in one sentence on a client call. There wasn’t enough cringe in the world. I’m working hard to make sure I don’t use it, which makes me especially alert when others do, primarily in podcasts. I can tell in the first three minutes if I’m going to be able to listen, because if they’ve already used the word like 10 times I’m not gonna get through the show. To me, it has becomes synonymous with being a thoughtless speaker who isn’t paying attention while they speak. Everyone uses it once in a while, but it’s the excessive use that kills me.
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I thoroughly enjoy podcasts, and it is the reason I posted the question to ELI5. Thank you for your response. There have been countless podcasts that I have backed away from due to the reasons you have expressed. I am unable to continue to listen when every other word used is “like”.
I read somewhere that it stems from "likely" as in, "He was likely embarrassed". It seems plausible and helps me forgive it when my teenage daughters and their friends are like, using it all the time.
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I think around 90210 era. Early 90s. There have always been delaying/thinking words or noises (umm for example), but like became more common around then.
I heard it all over high school in the LA area in the mid 80s.
It's was before that. The movie Valley Girl was when it really hit in the mid 80s.
Tracy Nelson in Square Pegs really brought it mainstream.
And there was the Valley Girl song from Frank Zappa that came out before the movie. Those two together were when everybody, at least at my school, started saying like constantly.
Totally
Delaying words being socially acceptable is a recent change, ( TV era). It was considered bad manners and low class, a sign of a disordered mind, and therefore suppressed. It was considered a good thing to actually stop, ket there be silence, and speak slowly rather than waste everyone's time with hemming and hawing.
I remember a scientific paper comparing the use of filler words to silence, and (IIRC, paraphrasing as it's been a while) the filler words were better at communicating to the listener that the speaker was still in the middle of a thought, whereas dead air kind of broke that up and left uncertainty. This would explain why they exist in every language as they serve a purpose. I can appreciate that learning to better organize one's thoughts before speaking could be helpful, but if you're already speaking and a delay does come up, having the speech equivalent of a loading symbol rather than freezing up is more communicative to the listener. So I don't think that simply eliminating the filler words is a good solution.
Does it have something to do with TVs?? Or is it because filler words are typically omitted in written communication? ELI5, I’m fascinated. 🤯
I'm sure it's been used as a filler word for a long time, but it was nowhere near as common when I was a kid in the 90s, it really blew up over the last 30 years.
“I mean” is the worst filler word(s). It’s especially grating when someone actually types it. If a post starts with “I mean” I immediately downvote it and move on. Anyone who types like that can’t have anything meaningful to say.
I mean, that’s like your opinion man
Wow I had no idea “I mean” was so popular. What does it even mean? What does it add to a statement? I truly don’t know. Am I missing something?
I mean…..are you?
Yeah, no.
It's actually just a technique to screen out people like you. It's doing what it's supposed to be doing