Like as a Discourse Marker in Academic Speech

Abstract

This study investigates the use of like in formal academic speech, focusing on its grammatical functions, positional distribution, and pragmatic roles within the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) corpus. The findings indicate that like in academic speech is predominantly used as a discourse marker (DM), accounting for 51% of its occurrences, challenging the notion that it is primarily a feature of informal speech. The study also shows that like as a DM most frequently appears in the utterance-medial position, reflecting its integration into formal speech without disrupting the formal tone. Functionally, like as a DM serves primarily as a focus marker and exemplifier in lectures, where it highlights key information and introduces examples to clarify complex concepts. Less frequent functions include its use as a hedge, quotative marker, and approximator, suggesting that the academic context prioritizes clarity and precision over conversational markers of uncertainty or vagueness.