[log in to unmask] wrote: > > Dear Ategers > > How would you folks analyze these sentences? > > 1. He went, like, "you're crazy!" > > 2. He was all like "You're crazy!" > Note that 'He was all "You're crazy!" ' is also a possible usage in current 'youth English'. Both 'be all' and 'be like' (and, it seems, the two in combination) are indeed being used as 'quotatives', that is, to introduce direct quotations from another's speech. I've also heard/read that 'like' is being used as a discourse marker to mark new information or to highlight the bit of information that the speaker wants the listener to attend to most. If this is true, it's not a mere 'place-holder' like 'um'. I wouldn't interpret 'like' as a preposition in either its quotative use or its discourse-marker use. These are indeed elements of informal, teen language (they probably qualify as 'slang'), but that doesn't make them illegitimate, nor is it necessarily a sign of reduced competence to use the language. In-group language exists in many groups, for very real social reasons. Slang serves its purpose, and would not exist unless it had a purpose to fulfill. Language communities would be poorer and more restricted without slang and in-group language. A lot of slang expressions are short-lived; others make their way into informal standard language. These uses of 'all' and 'like' haven't been around long enough to see what will happen with them. I don't use the quotative 'like', but I have found myself using the discourse-marker 'like'. So that one may find its way into the usage of older people as well. The fact that students cease to use it when they move into professional life suggests that they are aware of its in-group, informal status and of its inappropriateness in more-formal settings. This may also doom it to a short life. Time will tell. I feel it's important to acknowledge the validity of slang in its appropriate social context. Formal language 'has no place' in informal or intimate contexts--it can be seriously socially wrong when used in situations in which informal language is expected. Slang isn't some kind of 'bad habit'. It has an ecological niche in the world of communication. If students aren't mastering language beyond their in-group, we have to ask why as well as just lament it. People learn language varieties that (a) they are exposed to sufficiently to internalize them (that is, a lot) and (b) they perceive they need to learn in order to function socially and professionally. If the surrounding culture (parents, schools, popular culture, etc.) does not provide them with sufficient exposure and does not demand that they perform in formal varieties of language, there's no reason to expect they will learn them. This indicates nothing about their inherent language or thinking abilities. People of normal intelligence will learn several varieties of their native language (indeed, several languages) if their society is structured in such a way that several varieties are regularly and generously used and required. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Johanna Rubba Assistant Professor, Linguistics English Department, California Polytechnic State University One Grand Avenue • San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 Tel. (805)-756-2184 • Fax: (805)-756-6374 • Dept. Phone. 756-259 • E-mail: [log in to unmask] • Home page: http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/