ABSTRACT
The multifunctional and ubiquitous word like represents a unique challenge for an English learner. For example as a verb it is highly frequent and appears on every existing list of basic English vocabulary while as a discourse marker also highly frequent in contemporary English it is not featured even in advanced ESL/EFL textbooks with some other functions characteristic only of some varieties of English. Furthermore while some of the functions (e.g. verb noun comparative complementizer) are accounted for by prescriptive grammar of English and are stylistically neutral others (“remarkable” according to D’Arcy (2007 2017) such as quotative complementizer or discourse marker) are largely stigmatized often negatively perceived and avoided in formal speech and their usage during a job interview may even affect the likelihood of the user being hired (Russell et al. 2008). Data from 26 international students on an American college campus (all non-native speakers of English) show that while non-native speakers are eager to incorporate “remarkable” like into their discourse-pragmatic repertoire and are capable of using it in a native-like way if not with native-like frequency (e.g. token distributions across different functions are similar in native and non-native speech) their level of stylistic awareness borders on non-existent. In fact because “remarkable” like is overwhelmingly perceived as a specifically American phenomenon by non-native speakers they may overuse it in formal situations in order to “blend in” and signal their American identity.
