when you study linguistics you tend not to judge people on their accents or dialects. education really does remove racism and inequality Edit: it's been 3 years and I only just realized how many likes this got. Thank you all.

KZfaq Rule #1: The smarter the video, the dumber the comments. This is a smart video.

Why is it that people are so critical of the way that she talks? Did you even bother to listen to what she was actually saying? This talk was amazing and very interesting! A huge amount of work was obviously put into this talk and it was delivered incredibly well. I challenge all of those who are criticizing her to get up on a TED stage and deliver a talk to hundreds of people. I swear, people have no empathy.

If you love the video, don’t read the comments. Lots of micro-prejudice and thoughtlessness ridden like a disease here. Very intriguing talk!

I would like this lady to narrate an audio book. I think her accent and tone is exceptionally pleasant. Who cares if the mic is picking up little sounds. How many of you complaining have ever tried speaking in public? Personally my mouth dries up immediately when I get in front of a group.

This video is so much better on 1.25x speed! Please try it.

As someone who is very much interested in language and linguistics, this was absolutely brilliant! The world is gradually becoming more and more Americanized, so I'm sure a lot of people, including myself, already knew about the medial "valley-girl" *like*, but not the socio-linguistic Irish *like*! My mother tongue is Arabic, and I realized that there is an equivalent to "like" in the Jordanian dialect, and this has made me want to investigate that tbh. Very cool stuff!

So thankful for my linguistics professor who taught us that American slang doesn't mean we're stupid, but just as smart as people who speak proper English.

I'm in love. I'm gonna cry. I think I found my dream profession. Maybe.

I like the way she speaks...so modest.

Why so many dislikes? Such a well spoken, BOMB lady, with an incredibly informative and interesting presentation on aspects of language that most of us are ignorant about. Great stuff!

The mic noises don't bother me, I think this is one of the most interesting Ted talks I've ever stumbled upon.

Put the video on 1.5% speed and you'll hear it better.

She has a very calming effect as she speaks. Directs you to listen to her.

This is like, so cool.

Vera Regan -> Rare Vegan stop being blind, people

Very pleasant and well paced voice. She is intelligent and engaging. Love her voice and calm presence. Excellent story teller - enunciates well. She is awesome.

This video deserves a "Like"

Didn't know Hilary Clinton was an Irish sociolinguist

It’s so interesting, the way we speak not only reflects on who we are and where we came from but also on where we want to go and who we want to be!

Apparently people are complaining about the way she speaks, but I personally think she was incredible

Greetings from a Polish native speaker in Belgium 😊 I’m proud you have choosen us, the Poles as a subject. 🌹

In your bus conversation and slides, you're actually discussing two differing forms of 'like', once both used in the same sentence: - She was like, "Cheers" - He was like it's only like two miles. The first like (inseparable from the verb 'to be' = ''was like'') is just the verb for reported speech, and can be interchanged with "to say". - She was like "Cheers" = She said "Cheers" - He was like "It's only like two miles" = He said, "It's only like two miles" The second like is the clausal like, which can be either marginal, medial, or completely absent without changing the meaning. - It's only, like, two miles = It's only two miles, like = It's only two miles. - She was like "Cheers" ≠ She was "Cheers", like ≠ She was "Cheers".

People complaining never spoke publicly, you can tell. I speak publicly for an academic team, it's hard to go up and deliver what you feel matters to you. I like her voice, it's very professional and confident. Study the way her points move her around the stage..positive neutral negative. (Or vice versa)

Was I the only one that heard her saliva?

I'm Pole and when Vera Regan said about my nation I was very proud of it. :D

Nietzsche has already said that identity is not what we are but who we want to become. I love when great scientists - like Vera Regan - by their devotion to research can confirm (or at least test) some intuitions that thinkers or artists had expressed based just on their own observations and self-reflection.

This is something every writer knows. Speaking style is important when thinking up a new character. It's a part of personality.

omg this was like soo totally informative

Hillarious to hear her say "amazeballs"

Her speech reveals that she is a very logical, methodical, analytical and clear minded woman. very detailed style of conversation and expression. I am also like this.

My father was Scottish, my mother sounded like Merseyside, and yet I sound like I went to Cambridge. I love language, though I am more of an artistic than an academic. I enjoy learning new words to use in conversation. The English language is beautiful. Many people consider it embarrassing to speak correctly as they fear ridicule from their peers, but English is our birthright, we should embrace it.

I wrote about something similar and I am amazed that someone understands this concept. I wrote the piece right after listening to BJ Miller Ted Talk. I notice he used a little bit of imagery but what really touched me was the way he delivered his speech. It made me think about how people tell stories.What’s the order of the words? The vocabulary? The style? Very important characteristics to determine what kind of person you're talking to.

So, like, what the fuck am I suppose to take out of this?

Like seems to be a comma substitution people punctuate ideas with when they're thinking of the next thing to say. You can do the same thing with 'right' (watch TYT - Cenk and Ana do it all the time), or 'OK' or 'you know' and doubtless many similar 'throw away' expressions.

My favorite thing is the understood differences and uses for things like said and the other ways to convey that, and how people of at least the younger generations understand it while never actually being taught it. Some people, especially older generations have problems with "was like" instead of said, or "was all" as well. Thing is, they're used to fill in a gap we didn't have before, especially verbally, to convey how exact we're being. "John said" is an exact quote or a very close to exact. "John was like" means its's not exactly the same words but it conveys the meaning of what was said. "John was all" is very paraphrased, likely not close to the real words at all, frequently there was an emotional reaction of some kind to what is being described. It's also frequently mocking. It may not be "proper english" the way we learn in school, but a way of being able to more specifically communicate was developed in the last 10/15 years or so. It's not even something people have to think about, we just understand it and use it without any need for it to be explained, and I find that fascinating.

*woman talking about a very complex and interesting topic* "hahaha there are noises coming from her mouth" are you being serious?

its pretty obvious she made up what she heard on the bus

Great speech. But I just couldn't get over the mouth noises, they were so disturbing. This is not the first TED talk where I stopped listening through my headphones because of that. I'm wondering if they could have somehow eliminated it during the recording, by changing the mic or adjusting the software...

I grew up in England, but my mother is full on, 100% Irish. This means my use of the word "like" is everywhere- "Like, she was like, really tall like." It's a habit that feels impossible to break out of and no-one takes me seriously, haha.

your pronunciation of the Polish names Mariusz and Anna are spot on. Polish speakers would most likely not pronounce them with such a grace and accuracy! Reminds me of the generations of grandparents who used verbal communication a loy more then through texts obviously, plus they are well read have great memory and are silver-tongued.

5 years later and this is still an incredible video! So fascinating!

At about 8:20: "more local in outlook at times". I can only admire the deftness and precision with which she puts that euphrmistc understatement just the right distance away from being an outright insult.

Am I the only one who loves the way she speaks? I found this talk so relaxing and informative

Observing the evolution of Grammar as it happen. So cool! I also really liked the speaker herself refreshingly nonjudgemental & great at synthesizing the human factor with precise analysis. As a writer I evidently know how language/ word choice can be used to convey a message, feeling or the personality of your characters (and the likes of Shakespeare or certain Japanese writers have used such differences to highly stylized extremes) and I'd heard that your personality type can influence certain things (and once I read that I couldn't unsee it), but I didn't know it was this frequent in everyday casual language use beyond obvious things like formality level. I mean using internet words IRL very much IS kind of like being part of a culture even though it's mostly simple habit.

In Swedish, instead of "like" we say "bah". So, "she was like, cheers" would be "Hon bah, skål". Now you know

I love PBS because there are many shows where people speak with perfect grammar and diction. It's a real turn on for me when people speak well!

This is like totally like the first Ted talk that I've like actually liked.

Even where I live, in the Netherlands (not an English speaking country, though everyone learns it in school), lots of young women use the 'like'. It's so interesting!

These top comments suck! She was amazing and spot! I love how she ended it! Yessss! We are the movers and the shakers and we are the future! She ripped it. xD

Interesting findings! And that charming, charming Irish accent.

Woow, absolutely amazing and hit the nail on the head without even insulting anybody! Far from being taken as a language passionate, it feels great to share the common concern with the like minded members of the society, such as Vera Regan. I too have a growing contempt, or let's put it that way; 'dislike' for the excessive and unnecessary use of 'like". But the way how the language is abused seems to be unstoppable in the short run. The question is; could this be nipped in the bud?

This was so interesting! I enjoyed it a lot, both as a speaker of Polish and English and as a student of linguistics.

Amazing speech. I'm enchanted by sociolinguistics. Language is life.

Great talk. I appreciate the value of such grand research and eloquence. I also value the meaning behind our human experience through language.

i would actually argue that there's another function of "like" in f.ex. "and he was, like, 'what are you doing' ". it signals that you're about to paraphrase someone. you're not quoting them, but expressing general meaning and attitude, emotional load if you will, of what they said. also there's something similar in poznan (a city in poland) and it's surroundings to irish "like". it's "tej" (pronounced "tEy") but literally no one uses this except for people in that area

In France there's an exact equivalent of like, it's "genre", used also as clause medial (man that sounds so technical...)

Culture in action! I was expecting some boarder sense of guidelines that people can use to better understand colloquialism, but this was a well curated talk for the live audience present during the talk.

I was fascinated with her speech. Than I scrolled down to see the comments and.. Wow. I see why there is so many people with problems. They simply can't hear or understand the simple facts. Or they are just haters because she is telling us how young women can shape the future of language

Thank you Vera for this wonderful talk!

Her mouth was probably dry because she was nervous. If all you can focus on is that sound that you can hear because of some problem with the technology, you obviously wouldn't gain anything from the video even if you would listen to. The reason for that is because you don't really care for any new information with al the britney spears' videos out there. Just stop commenting on this video and move on over to something that doesn't annoy you. She isn't saying anything offensive, just trying to give a nice, informative ted talk.

9:28 to 9:36 If you've ever moved to a country where people speak a language that's not your native, you know that this sort of thing happens a lot. Definitely not just a "like" phenomenon. Idk, I don't find it so extraordinarily. I think we might even experience that in our native tongue at least once. I'm really surprised at the manner with which she presented that. Was she just inclining to make it more understandable for the (monolingual in the) audience? Nevertheless what she then explained up to 10:46 was very interesting. It should be an obvious thing imo, but it was nice to have someone kinda "wrap it up" all at once. A very interesting talk.

I've never understood why people get upset over language changing. In fact, one of the greatest things about the English language is that it is constantly evolving. It is not beholden to the same 'rules' as other languages - that's what makes it SUCH a universal language, as it never stops evolving to be what we NEED it to be. I find it REALLY interesting actually, not something to be denigrated or looked down upon.

Life creates language. Life is moving and changing. Language just flows with life. Language is shaped by changes in life.

This is such an interesting topic, indeed! And the way she presented it was simply perfect. Clear, sharp and illustrative. I've just become a fan of this woman yaaaaay

The content is very interesting, what makes it boring is the way the message is being passed through

The way she spoke was so elegant. I loved it!

I need this woman's job. That sounds so fascinating!

al l th e m o u t h n o i s e s

somebody get this woman a glass of water!

It can show your history, experience and influences. And if you have multiple styles you like to write or speak in, shows your love of playing characters/appreciation of differences and variation.

Reminds me of psychs who categorize someone's entire personality and developmental history by the way they fold a map. I'm glad she mentioned outliers, because there are plenty, and many people speak quite differently in different situations.

Such an interesting topic! It's interesting how we show our true identities through our speech.

Everything she said is simply common sense and could figure out after a few moments reflection without suffering through a PhD program.

. . . Proactively setting aside [the perceptual interfering influence of distracting condemnation and judgmental] attitudes on the part of the witness, she included statistical analyses of actual vernacular speech in a few specific cultures, languages, and locations. She emphasized perceiving and understanding social significance

I despise the condescension slang faces, so it was nice to hear such a positive perspective on it. 'Like' isn't laziness, and although I totally agree with her conclusion that it is both reflective of identity and given pride of place in the public portrayal of identity, it's not JUST that either. It's a floor-holder, because people talk over you if you go quiet while gathering your thoughts, and it's also indicative of a description as opposed to solid fact. It gives information a personal, subjective feel, rather than purely objective - like you're trying to communicate emotion and subtext as well.

I had a friend -- an exchange student from Japan -- that spoke English pretty well, but every time I said something like "every time I said something like" or "and I was like," she would become quite confused.

This is really fascinating!!! Thank you!

I'm very interested in linguistics after having learned a foreign language to fluency for the first time in my life. And it's interesting to me to look at the aspects of casual speech that I've adopted in said language and the way I use them, versus my own story. I absolutely concur with her conclusion, because although I now live in a different country, I long to go back, and I've even taken a job here speaking the language that I learned. Language is something that I feel very much still connects me to the country I left.

I love this lady's accent. It's so lovely.

Madam today I learned a lot from you. Thank you my greetings from Aden - Yemen

Interesting. I'm a native Dutch speaker (from Belgium), I lived in Dublin for a while, and took over their use of like. I now live in Brussels and am constantly surrounded by French speakers, and I drop the "ne" in the negation just like I hear other French speakers do. I have a masters in languages, so I am very conscious of how I use it, but I really would have to force myself to not talk like the locals. PS I love(d) the Dublin accent :-)

I LOVE her beautiful accent!! Great information, too. Very interesting stuff about language!!

I really enjoyed this! What a great piece of insight

This is an excellent talk.

I loved this video. I found it so intriguing and I just love language. :)

This is fascinating as I do not talk like most people within my community. I speak fast, i stutter without mumbling, and I use large words casually. Most people I know speak with a drawl, and prefer simplicity rather than exuberance. When I was a young child I had a serious stutter because my mother was a fast talker and I was trying to keep up with her. However, as I got older I was able to match her speed and now I find that I talk like someone who lives somewhere else, even though ive lived in my hometown my entire life!!

It seems that the nonstandard "like" is actually a social cue/invitation for a person to actively imagine a situation, visually in many of the instances that I can recall. It has the significance of saying "words aren't quite enough here to communicate my feeling or understanding; imagine what I was thinking when I encountered [xyz situation or idea.]" There are other ways to say that. It's like "come again" compared to "I have not the pleasure of understanding you." In that sense it is quite a meaningful bid for social connection. I would hypothesize that people only use this word in this way around people whom they are comfortable or familiar with.

I thought that she was a very clear and interesting speaker. Leave it to the rest to discover the minute sounds and focus only on it, though I understand how it could be very disturbing,. I'm glad I saw the comments late.

Everyone in the comment section is so concerned over the sounds coming out of her mouth that they failed to notice that the air-conditioning has dried up the grease in her right elbow? Come on man.

The joy of watching this video and pressing the "Like" button.

I really love the title of this talk for some reason

Our brains are hardwired but can be rewired.

This stuff is totally fascinating. It's amazing how Irish the clause marginal one sounds, and how worldly the clause medial.

That was a fascinating topic to hear about. Being Russian myself, I now understand that in our language we have the word that is very similar to "like", especially to the American one. The mouth noises didn`t draw my attention at all, I was completely absorbed with the speech. Why does everybody dwell on them so much? They weren`t that blatant.

I think she is just saying that how we communicate tells people who we are, and so it our choice to communicate the way we want. For young women, they should not feel insecure or being pushed into the way they communicate because it is their future, and they have the right to chose whatever it may be. For those who judge the ways these women talk, there is a reason that they talk the way they do, and like she said, if you don't like it, say something about it.

Classy Woman. Great Speech!

I’m working on stop saying “like” so much. I’d rather have a thick southern accent, drop the g at the of sentences and speak fluently that have a clear perfect American accent and say like like like like in every other word.

I recently came across the TEDx Talks videos. Most are quite interesting. As much as this might be I couldn't get away from the sound of her gums when she talks. Now you all will hear it. You're welcome.

I'm Polish (and a student of English) and I didn't expect that kind of research coming my way -- nice surprise!