Like Is, like, Focus

In these examples (and throughout) I have italicized like for the reader's convenience; but it is important not to mistake the italics for any hint of stress. GRAMMATICAL like can be stressed, as in A whale is like a fish, but it isn't really afish. NONSTANDARD like, to my knowledge, can never be stressed. I will demonstrate, with examples, that nonstandard like is neither random nor mindless. Instead, it functions with great reliability as a marker of new information and focus.