What does“like” mean？

~ If you, like, dislike "like", maybe, like, think again

如果你，呃，不喜欢“like（呃）”这个词，那可能，呃，再想一想吧

Nobody seems to like "like" — or nobody with access to a printing press. Letters to newspapers and comment pieces often harrumph about this new, meaningless filler word. Can't it, they wonder, somehow be eliminated?

似乎没有人喜欢 like（这个口语填充词）——或者至少那些能够接触印刷机的人不喜欢。各大新闻报刊的读者来信和评论都经常对这个新潮却毫无意义的填充词表示抗议。他们感到困惑：难道这个词就不能以某种方式彻底消失吗？

But academic linguists, at least, have a soft spot for "like". Making a virtue of necessity, they have looked at the supposedly vacuous word in depth. Irritating or not, they have concluded, "like" is not new and is far from meaningless.***

但至少学术界的语言学家们对 like 还是十分喜爱的。他们趁此机会深入研究了这个据说空洞无物的词汇。不管结果是不是令人厌烦，他们都得出了结论：like 不是一个新词，而且也远非毫无意义。

One version is "quotative like": "She was like, 'You can't do that', and I'm like, 'Yes I can'." That was already identified in the early 1980s, associated with young women, particularly those in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. This usage won out against "she goes" ("She goes, 'You can't do that', and I go…") and is now ubiquitous, and uncomplicated.

（Like 的）一种使用版本是“引用式的 like”，比如：“她就，‘你不能那么做’，然后我就，‘我能，我就这么做’。”这种版本早在 1980 年代初就被确认使用了，且（这种版本的使用）和年轻女性有关，尤其是生活在洛杉矶圣费尔南多谷的年轻女性。这种版本的使用胜过“她 goes（说）”（“她说，‘你不能那么做’，然后我说……”），且如今似乎无处不在，简单不复杂。

The word "like" provides a valuable second channel of information, overlaying the basic proposition of a sentence. Speakers who use "like" are not generally stupid or thoughtless. Research suggests that they employ it more with friends and in settings where they feel comfortable, indicating that they hope this second channel will be picked up by a sympathetic audience. They reduce its use in more formal settings — perhaps well aware how older, more powerful adults feel about it.

Like 这个词提供了另一条珍贵的信息传递渠道，叠加在了句子的基本观点之上。总体上看，使用 like 的说话者并不愚蠢或者欠缺考虑。研究显示他们更常在和朋友（的对话中）使用 like，且会在令他们舒服自如的场景下使用。这表明他们希望第二条交流渠道可以被能理解他们的听众所领会到。他们会在更加正式的场景中减少 like 的使用——或许因为他们很清楚年长一些、有权力的成年人会如何看待这个词。

The better gripe is that some people really do use "like" every fourth word. No word or phrase — not "like", not "in terms of" — can bear that kind of repetition without annoying people. So if you're a "like" enthusiast, don't hang your head in shame. But, as with most things, variety is the spice of "like".

更恰当的抱怨是：有些人确实每说四个单词就会使用一个 like。没有哪个词或者短语能够承受那样的不断重复，同时还做到不惹人讨厌的——like 不行，in terms of 也不行。所以，如果你是一个 like 的使用爱好者，别垂头丧气、感到羞耻。但是，和大多数事情一样，（用词的）多样化能为 like 增加额外的趣味。

主编：Raven、菜菜

品控：Raven

审核：迎迎

重点词汇

printing press

印刷机

搭配短语：go to press

英文释义：to start to be printed

相关词汇：press（n. 压平器；压榨机；熨烫机）

搭配短语：a garlic press

搭配短语：a wine press

harrumph

/həˈrʊmf/

v. 发哼声（以表示异议或愤怒）

英文释义：to express anger or disapproval

补充：harrumph 是一个拟声词（imitative word）

eliminate

/iˈlɪm.ə.neɪt/

v. 消除，清除；消灭（对手或敌人）

英文释义：to remove sth. completely

搭配短语：to eliminate fatty foods from our diet

搭配短语：to eliminate child poverty

have a soft spot for

钟情于……，十分喜爱… …

英文释义：to feel that you like someone very much

例句：She'd always had a soft spot for her younger nephew.

make a virtue of necessity

趁此机会，对……因势利导

英文释义： to make a good thing (out) of sth. that one is forced to do, to benefit from sth. that one is forced to do

相关词汇：virtue（n. 优点，好处；美德）

英文释义：an advantage or good thing

相关词汇：necessity（n. 必要，需要）

英文释义：something that one is forced to do

supposedly

/səˈpoʊ.zɪd.li/

adv. 据说（暗含说话者的怀疑）

英文释义：used to show that you do not believe that something you have been told is true

相关词汇： suppose（v. 推测，假设 ）

搭配短语：a supposedly innocent remark

vacuous

/ˈvæk.ju.əs/

adj. 空洞的，无知的

搭配短语：vacuous comments

补充：vacuous 和表示真空的 vacuum 是同根词，它们的词根都是拉丁语中的形容词 vaccus，意思是“empty”。

近义词：empty（adj. 空洞的）

far from

远非......，完全不......

例句：The situation is far from clear.

相关短语：far from it

例句：He's not handsome — far from it.

quotative

/ˈkwəʊtətɪv/

adj. 引用的，印证的

相关词汇：quotation（n. 引用）

相关词汇：quote（v. 引用）

win out

胜过，胜出

搭配短语：win out against / over

例句：Greengrocers have won out against supermarkets by selling local products.

ubiquitous

/juːˈbɪk.wə.t̬əs/

adj. 普遍存在的，似乎无处不在的

英文释义：seeming to be everywhere

例句：Bubble tea shops are now ubiquitous in cities.

overlay

/ˌoʊ.vɚˈleɪ/

v. 叠加，覆盖; 在……上面盖一层东西

相关短语：lay over sth.

搭配短语：Wood overlaid with gold.

例句：The place was overlaid with memories of my childhood.

proposition

/ˌprɑː.pəˈzɪʃ.ən/

n. 观点

相关词汇：propose（v. 提出，提议）

英文释义：an idea or opinion

thoughtless

/ˈθɑːt.ləs/

adj. 欠考虑的，不为他人着想的

相关词汇：thought（n. 想法）

词根词缀：-less（表示“没有”）

employ

/ɪmˈplɔɪ/

v. 使用，雇用

相关词汇：use（v. 使用）

搭配短语：to employ me as a teacher（雇用）

相关词汇：employer（v. 雇主）

相关词汇：employee（v. 员工）

英文释义：make use of

搭配短语：to employ force to open the door（使用）

pick up

注意到，领会；捡起；养成；去接某人

搭配短语：pick up a pen（捡）

搭配短语：pick up a bad habit（养成）

搭配短语：pick up sb.（接）

近义词：understand（v. 理解）

近义词：catch（v. 领会）

例句：I didn't pick up the hint.

gripe

/ɡraɪp/

n. 抱怨，牢骚

词性拓展：gripe（v. 抱怨）

例句：The students griped that they had too much homework.

hang one's head

垂头丧气

相关短语：hold up one's head（感到骄傲，不气馁）

例句：Even though they lost the game, they can still hold up their heads because they tried their best.

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杭锦后旗17253037533： What does she like?和 What's she like? 分别什么意思? - ？
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杭锦后旗17253037533： how does it like 和 what does it like 有什么语法上的区别 - ？
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杭锦后旗17253037533： what does he like 和what is he like和how is he like - ？
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杭锦后旗17253037533： what does she like和 what does she like doing区别? - ？
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杭锦后旗17253037533： What does Tim like.和what Tim looks like什么区别 - ？
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