One hundred years ago, the quotative “be like” did not exist. Today, “like” ranks within the top ten words of linguistic corpora of teen language and “be like” is the most favored quotative of speakers younger than forty. Hence, the paper focuses on the quotative “be like” and its remarkable pathway of an emerging new linguistic feature of the mid-20th century to one of the core features of teen language and a potentially new standard quotative of the English language in general.
Linguistic evidence for the rise of “be like” presented in this paper is mainly based on the findings of Canadian linguist Sali A. Tagliamonte who analyzed teen language on the basis of several corpora over the past decades. Her 2016 publication Teen Talk sets her apart from many other sociolinguistic studies on the quotative “be like” as a majority of them have been published in the late 20th century, rendering them partly out of date as “be like” is still on the rise. Tagliamonte’s work not only offers an insight into historic data but also takes the linguistic developments of the early 2000s into account which allows a timely assessment of the seemingly ever-changing quotative “be like”. In the second section of this paper, other linguists’ recent study results will be taken into account to assess “be like’s” status as a quotative of the 21st century. In a third step, differing sociolinguistic implications regarding “be like” will be illustrated by examining the sociolinguistic implications of “be like”.
The paper hence aims at approaching possible answers to the question of how the rise of “be like” can be explained by illustrating different stages of development hinged on various generations of speakers based on Tagliamonte’s research. The current status of “be like” is assessed and put into context with popular culture and social media. The emergence of “be like” will be put into context with stereotypes about teenagers’ impact on language change as well as with the so-called Valley Girl phenomenon. By examining the sociolinguistic implications linked to “be like’s” current popularity, it will be shown that “be like” is not simply a phenomenon of teen language but might instead settle within the English grammar of the 21st century.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Evolution of the quotative be like based on Tagliamonte
2.1 Early use of be like by speakers born in the 1950s and 1960s
2.2 Be like on the rise: speakers born in the 1970s and the teenagers of the 1980s
2.3 Be like-natives: speakers born in the 1980s and 1990s
2.4 How can the rise of be like be explained?
3 The quotative be like in the 21st century
3.1 Assessment of be like’s current status in the English language
3.2 Be like in slang and popular culture
4 Be like and language ideology
4.1 Teenagers are overusing be like
4.2 Be like stems from the Californian Valley Girls
5 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the evolution and sociolinguistic status of the quotative "be like," exploring its transition from an emerging linguistic feature in the mid-20th century to a central component of contemporary English grammar, while addressing common myths regarding its usage and ideological associations.
- Historical development of "be like" across different generations.
- Sociolinguistic analysis of "be like" in pop culture and social media.
- Evaluation of stereotypes regarding teenage language use and "overuse."
- Investigation into the "Valley Girl" stigma and gender-related language variations.
Excerpt from the Book
2 Evolution of the quotative be like based on Tagliamonte
In the chapter Quotatives: I’m like, „Oh my God!” of her 2016 book Teen Talk: The Language of Adolescents, Canadian linguist Sali A. Tagliamonte analyzes the use of quotative be like as one of the core features of teen language. The findings presented in her book are, to a large extent, based on extensive studies and corpora she conducted and worked on together with her university students in Canada and England. In line with the idea that stories are an authentic way to analyze people’s language use, Tagliamonte’s Storytelling Corpora of 1995-2004 produced an “eclectic collection of experiences, tales, and confessions” (Tagliamonte 2016: 11) told by friends and families of participating university students. The researcher states that personal narratives were “the prime locus for quotative verbs” and hence enabled her to detect the “new innovation, the use of like as a quotative verb, before most people knew it was rising” (Tagliamonte 2016: 12).
As a result of the research conducted in the Storytelling Corpora, Figure 1 shows the overall distribution of the quotatives be like, say, think, go, and zero by speaker date of birth. Tagliamonte and D’Arcy analyzed speech samples taken from stories by nearly 200 Toronto natives, aged 9 to 87, in the years 2003 to 2005 (cf. Tagliamonte 2016: 71). The results were published in 2007 and provide information on the linguistic behavior of speakers born between 1920 and the late 1990s. Thus, it needs to be noted that the use of quotatives by teenagers in 2020 is not represented in this corpus. As language gradually changes, it is important to look at different points in time as well as generations if one aims to retrace the rise of be like. Based on Tagliamonte and D’Arcy’s research presented in Figure 1 as well as further findings, this section of the present term paper hence looks at the three generations that made way for quoting like entering today’s teens and tweens’ everyday language.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter outlines the emergence of "be like" as a core feature of teen language and establishes the research goal of analyzing its development and sociolinguistic implications.
2 Evolution of the quotative be like based on Tagliamonte: This section traces the historical shift of quotative usage across generations, highlighting how "be like" replaced traditional quotatives like "say" and "think."
3 The quotative be like in the 21st century: This chapter examines the contemporary status of "be like," its flexibility in diverse communication forms, and its manifestation in popular culture and slang.
4 Be like and language ideology: This section addresses and refutes common societal myths, such as the idea that teenagers are destroying language or that "be like" originated solely from "Valley Girl" culture.
5 Conclusion: The final chapter summarizes that "be like" is a permanent shift in English grammar rather than a transient teenage trend, emphasizing that linguistic change is a natural process.
Keywords
Quotative be like, Sociolinguistics, Teen language, Language change, Tagliamonte, Language ideology, Valley Girl, Discourse-pragmatic variation, Quotative verbs, Linguistic corpora, Slang, Grammar, Social media, Youth culture, Communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the development and spread of the quotative "be like," analyzing how it evolved from a marginal feature to a standard grammatical component among younger generations.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Key themes include the diachronic evolution of quotatives, the role of social media in language spreading, language ideology, and the dismantling of stereotypes regarding teenage communication.
What is the ultimate goal of the research?
The aim is to demonstrate that "be like" is not a temporary trend or sign of language decay, but a functional, flexible linguistic innovation that has successfully integrated into modern English.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The research relies on a variationist sociolinguistic approach, utilizing data from extensive speech corpora (such as the Storytelling Corpora and Toronto Teen Corpus) to track usage across different birth cohorts.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main part covers the generational shift in quotative verbs, the influence of social context, the role of internet memes and popular culture, and an evaluation of ideological biases toward "be like."
How would you describe the work with key terms?
The work is best characterized by terms such as sociolinguistics, quotative variation, language change, youth vernacular, and discourse-pragmatic markers.
How does the author address the "Valley Girl" stereotype?
The author refutes the idea that "be like" originated solely from the "Valley Girl" persona, noting that data shows the usage began to rise before the 1980s and is a global phenomenon, not just a Californian one.
Why is "be like" considered more flexible than traditional quotatives?
Unlike "say," which is restricted to verbal speech, "be like" can introduce inner thoughts, gestures, sounds, and attitudes, making it a more versatile tool for first-person narrative.
- Citar trabajo
- Leona Sedlaczek (Autor), 2020, The rise of the quotative "be like" and sociolinguistic stereotypes amongst young speakers, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/977019
