Editing 1483: Quotative Like
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In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions an article on the use of the word "{{w|Like#As a colloquial quotative|like}}" as a {{w|quotative}}. [[Cueball]] makes a joke on this by managing to use the word "like" three times in a seven word sentence. | In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions an article on the use of the word "{{w|Like#As a colloquial quotative|like}}" as a {{w|quotative}}. [[Cueball]] makes a joke on this by managing to use the word "like" three times in a seven word sentence. | ||
β | The "quotative like" is regularly given as an example of the decline of the English language. It is used to introduce a quotation or impersonation, although what follows may not be a verbatim quote, but rather conveys the general meaning of the original phrase. Although it is modern in terms of the English language, examples of its use can be found all the way back in 1928. The song "[http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/loudon_wainwright_iii/cobwebs.html Cobwebs]" by the American singer-songwriter {{w|Loudon Wainwright III}} blames {{w|Jack Kerouac}} and ''{{w|The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis}}'' character {{w| Maynard G. Krebs}} for starting the vogue of using the word "like" as a quotative. In the early | + | The "quotative like" is regularly given as an example of the decline of the English language. It is used to introduce a quotation or impersonation, although what follows may not be a verbatim quote, but rather conveys the general meaning of the original phrase. Although it is modern in terms of the English language, examples of its use can be found all the way back in 1928. The song "[http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/loudon_wainwright_iii/cobwebs.html Cobwebs]" by the American singer-songwriter {{w|Loudon Wainwright III}} blames {{w|Jack Kerouac}} and ''{{w|The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis}}'' character {{w| Maynard G. Krebs}} for starting the vogue of using the word "like" as a quotative. In the early 1980's, the stereotypical {{w|Valley Girl}} made substantial use of the quotative like, which may be the main origin of its contemporary use. |
β | In the second panel Megan mentions that | + | In the second panel Megan mentions that in the [http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/01/25/linguists-are-like-get-used/ruUQoV0XUTLDjx72JojnBI/story.html article] the {{w|linguist}} [https://faculty.unt.edu/editprofile.php?pid=1485 Patricia Cukor-Avila] is like: "Eventually all the people who hate this kind of thing are going to be dead, and the ones who use it are going to be in control." |
β | + | While it has long been popular to criticize modern developments that are seen as steps backward (see [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]]), such criticisms are almost always in vain, as they are typically made by the older generation against the younger generation, and the latter is always guaranteed to outlive the former. | |
The quote, however, doesn't actually say ''why'' the older generation will die out, leading Cueball to speculate that Dr. Cukor-Avila is plotting (or warning of) some sort of {{w|genocide}} against people who dislike the use of the quotative like. Megan points out a much more likely interpretation (although this is not mentioned directly in the article), that those people will die of old age, but Cueball persists, saying he'll err on the side of caution and make sure to use the quotative like more often, thereby hoping to be spared from the genocide. | The quote, however, doesn't actually say ''why'' the older generation will die out, leading Cueball to speculate that Dr. Cukor-Avila is plotting (or warning of) some sort of {{w|genocide}} against people who dislike the use of the quotative like. Megan points out a much more likely interpretation (although this is not mentioned directly in the article), that those people will die of old age, but Cueball persists, saying he'll err on the side of caution and make sure to use the quotative like more often, thereby hoping to be spared from the genocide. |