Why Teenagers, Like, Like 'Like'

"So we were all, like, hanging out. And then this guy comes over and starts, like, hassling us. Then he's all like, 'Get outta here!' And we were all, like, 'This is public property.'"

People write me all the time to complain about teenagers' talking like this. "Why does every other word have to be 'like'?" they ask. "It's a filler," they write, "a verbal tic like 'um' and 'you know.' It's monotonous and mindless."

Monotonous it may be, but it's hardly mindless. In fact, teenagers use "like" to impart subtle nuances and convey the emotional essence of events.

As linguist Geoffrey Nunberg points out in his fascinating book "Going Nucular" (PublicAffairs, $18.95), peppering sentences with "like" emerged in the slang of jazz musicians and beatniks during the 1950s. The word "like," he writes, "didn't actually mean anything so much as it evoked, the way a jazz riff does."

Because "like" implies comparison, it distances speakers from their words, reflecting casualness and even a mistrust of words' ability to fully convey an event or idea. Phrases such as "we were all, like, hanging out" and "starts, like, hassling us" suggest that "hanging out" and "hassling us" don't fully capture the events described, but provide the general idea.

Similarly, Nunberg observes, "like" can be used to finesse a request ("Could I, like, stay at your place?"); express disbelief ("So you're, like, firing me?"); and soft-pedal a suggestion ("We should consider, like, moving.")

----

During the 1980s, teenagers started using "like" in a new way: to introduce quotations, as an apparent synonym for "said," as in, "We were all, like, 'This is public property.''

But here's the catch: "Like" doesn't really mean "said."

For when teenagers say, "He was all, like, 'Get outta' here!'" they don't necessarily mean those were the speaker's exact words. They mean that what follows is an approximation of the tone of what he said. In fact, he may not have said anything but simply grunted and chased them away.

In this context, "like" is being used to introduce a brief imitation of the person's behavior. That's why the words following "like" are often accompanied by a physical gesture such as waving arms or a clenched fist.

But will all these fancy explanations stop adults from waving their arms and clenching their fists when they hear teenagers sprinkle their sentences with "like"?

I wouldn't, like, count on it.

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this words are from Rob Kyff....

Contract of Friendship Tag

Hi Lily,
My only pinay neighbor in my place. Thanks a lot for passing this contract.Thanks a lot for keeping me in your list of friendship. I also want to pass this Contract to Gen, Carlota, Lolli, Lyn and all my friends bloggers, you can grab it too..and pls don't forget to add my URL..thanks a lot..wish everyone a nice weekend.


And here's the contract!

After serious and cautious consideration...your contract of friendship has been renewed for the New Year 2008! It was a very hard decision to make. So try not to screw it up!!!My Wish for You in 2008 May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires! May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words ...May 2008 be the best year of your life!

A Friendly Tag

I got this tag from my blogger friend Gen, thank you for forwarding this to me, it is such a pleasure receiving this tag, it is very cute! Now, I am tagging Lolli, Carlota, Lily, Joy and all bloggers friends out there and pls. do not forget my URL also when you pass this tag. Thank you guys!



A real friends must be cherished beyond all worldly measures and shine brighter than gold and last longer than diamonds.

Thoughtless Friday

Got migraine again today..thanks God I felt better now but still feeling a bit tired..Can't think of anything to write besides that I really miss Philippines, my beloved home country and of course my family there too!! Here is my home in Cebu Province.

Stop-over in Amberg, Germany

Since Amberg can be passed by in going to Grafenwoehr, my friends whom I went with last Saturday, Jan. 19,'08 made a stop-over to see the town. At the same day, we just came from Ramstein around 4 hours drive till we reached our place in Hohenfels. Everyone was really tired but still we proceeded to Grafenwoehr just to see the new Shopping building in the US Base.

We made a bit walking and sightseeing in Amberg and never forgot to take some photos. Here they are....Please also find below a bit information and history about Amberg.


Gasthaus (guesthouse/beer garden) in Amberg



old but attractive buildings in Amberg



the late-Gothic Pfarrkirche St Martin



Tourist Information Office



Rathaus in Amberg/ Gothic Town Hall (built in 1358)



a shopping street in Amberg with a chapel



that's the Amberg Nabburger Tor (gate)


Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Oberpfalz ("Upper Palatinate"), roughly half way between Regensburg and Bayreuth.

HISTORY

The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under the name Ammenberg. It became an important trading centre in the Middle Ages, exporting mainly iron ore and iron products. In 1269 the town became together with Bamberg subordinate to the Wittelsbach dynasty that ruled Bavaria.

In 1329 the town and the entire region of Oberpfalz fell to a branch line of the Wittelsbach family and was no longer part of the duchy of Bavaria. Although in geographic terms it was regarded as Bavarian and the region was part of the Bavarian circle in the organisation of the Imperial Circles. The rulers of the Palatinate were open-minded towards Protestantism. In the 16th century the town turned to Lutheranism, but attempts of the ruling family to introduce the more radical Calvinism failed due to the reluctance of its citizens.

In 1628 Amberg and Oberfalz became part of the electorate of Bavaria. The inhabitants were given the choice: return to Catholicism or leave the town forever. Many families left the town and fled to the Free Imperial Cities of Regensburg and Nuremberg.

Amberg was the regional capital of Oberpfalz until 1810 when it was handed over to the larger city of Regensburg.

After the Second World War, in which Bavaria fell into the American Sector, Amberg was home to Pond Barracks, a United States Army base. The base was finally closed in 1992 and turned over to the local community for housing.

history info from wikipedia

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's... A Plane

Heard on a pre-flight announcement from an American Airlines
pilot:

On our flight today, we will be flying at 34,000 feet.
To give you an idea of how high that is, we would be able to fly
over 50 Empire State buildings stacked one on top the other.

Our speed will be about 500 miles per hour. That is just over
the muzzle velocity of the standard military .45 pistol.

We will be pushed along by two Pratt and Whitney JT-8D-200
turbofan engines. While thrust to horsepower varies with
altitude, the total 40,000 pounds of thrust is greater than the
combined power of 10 D-9 diesel locomotives.

In other words, we're faster than a speeding bullet, more
powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a
single bound, and as always, your Dallas based crew stands for
truth, justice, and the AMERICAN way!

~from avweb.com~


from The Mountain:
A .45 bullet moves considerably faster than a jet, 34,000 feet
is the height of only half as many Empire State buildings and a
D-9 diesel produces 4,000 horsepower. Read the link below if you
want to check the truth of the 10 locomotive engines.

Remember, this is flight crew helping to make a potentially
boring flight better. Often, the spirit is more important that
the details.
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/propulsion/q0195.shtml


from Mountain Wings Issue

All of Us Are in Debt

I want to thank all the emails I received everyday especially those that are very informative and useful in my daily living. Below is one example of it. Hope you guys will also get a lesson from it. Enjoy reading to this beautiful essay.

All of Us Are in Debt

Albert Einstein said, "A hundred times every day, I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received." As you think about what Einstein said, you will come to realize the completely unselfish wisdom of those words. First, we're indebted to our parents because they were responsible for bringing us into the world. Next, we are indebted to the doctors, nurses, aides, orderlies and other hospital personnel for the part they played in making our arrivals safe and healthy ones.

We're indebted to the educational structure where we learned reading, writing and arithmetic, which are critical to our lives. It's sobering to realize that yes, somebody did have to teach Albert Einstein that two plus two equals four.

We are in debt to all the pastors, priests and rabbis who taught us the essence of life by instructing us in those character qualities that are important to us, regardless of our chosen fields of endeavor -- athletics, medicine, education, business or government.

We certainly owe a debt to those people whose messages have been encouraging and positive, as well as informative and instructional. We are deeply in debt to those public servants who committed their lives to service through appointed or elected offices in this great land of ours. That includes the postal worker who brings the mail, the pressmen and reporters who are responsible for putting these words in print and the workers who build the highways upon which we move from one location to another.

The list is endless -- which brings us back to Einstein and his quote. We do have a heavy debt, and one way to repay that debt is to regularly express thanks and gratitude to the men and women who make our lives worth living. Think about it. Thank a lot of people.