1163. This week, we look at what it’s like to be a "language detective" with Sali Tagliamonte and how she used her own teenagers as a research lab. We look at a 25-year study on how the phrase "be like" became a permanent fixture of English, why the word "very" is suddenly making a comeback with younger generations, and what happens to our language when we spend all day talking to AI.

Sali Tagliamonte, University of Toronto

🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon.

Thank you to the members of the Order of the Aardvark at Patreon:

🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.

🔗 Take our advertising survey. 

🔗 Get the edited transcript.

🔗 Get Grammar Girl books. 

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.