Beowulf’s ‘you know,’ Shakespeare’s ‘prithee,’ and the myth of Valley Girl ‘like,’ with Dr. Laurel Brinton

1231. This week, Valerie Fridland steps in for Mignon and sits down with linguist Laurel Brinton to talk about little words like “well,” “you know,” and “like.” They look at why “well” signals bad news, how “Beowulf” may open with the Old English version of “you know,” and why “prithee” disappeared. Then they look at why most uses of “like” are older than Valley Girl speech.

Find Laurel Brinton at blogs.ubc.ca/laurelbrinton.

Find Valerie Fridland at ValerieFridland.com.

A hearty thank you to the Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!

Larry RosenblumMahala RussellGeorge WilsonLaurel PaulLinda CoxBirna Anna BjörnsdóttirKate Wade

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

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