Like

Today I finally learned about the new use of the word 'like'. This word already had a complicated definition, but lately has started to be used in even more ways. I have been studying the history of the English language and in the 1980's the stereotype of the valley girl used the word in a new way. In the past 20 years people have started to use 'like' as a leader for a quotation. My mom called and I was like, "Don't tell her I'm here". 'Like' is also used as a narrative, which means it is placed into pauses as someone thinks about what to say next, similar to 'eh', 'so', 'well', 'uhh', and 'umm'. So, like, that is it.