Dialogue introducers: the case of be + like

by Ferrera

be + like was introduced as a quotative since at least 1981. Speakers have a choice between say, go, and be like.

In Old English there was cwethen, secgan, and tellan (quoth, say, and tell). Cwethan was, at one time, used most frequently. In Beowolf say and cwethan are used interchangeably. Eventually say assumed uses that once belonged to cwethan and lost some of its uses to tell.

Ferrera gathered data from a diverse population (in terms of age, race, an gender) and documented the "evolution of the grammatical category of the quotative."

18-25 year olds of both genders use be +like. No one 40+ used it. For 40+, they only used say or go.

"functional expansion into third person"

Few rural speakers used it, but blacks and Hispanics did use it. Usage is uneven within speakers.

Usage is spreading and expanding.