A linguist at Temple University in Philly has come out with a paper spelling out the evolution and relevance of the slang term, 'like.'

Telling us GenX/Yers what we've known for, like, ever, it goes into reasons why 'like' is just as valid a word as any other.

Personally, I'm waiting for the inevitable copycat theses addressing such high-minded terms as 'was all' (eg. "And she was all, 'don't go there.'"), 'shiznit' 'hella' 'moted' (thanks Mellie for reminding me of that Valley gem!) and my new favorite: 'yinz.'

My favorite are the highly regional words (like moted and yinz). 'Sosh,' apparently revived from the '60s was another real-world valley girl fave. Got any of your own?