Is a comma used when "like" is an approximation?
Given the following sentence:
There were about a dozen of them.
if "like" is used instead of "about", what would be the correct way to write it?
There were, like, a dozen of them.
There were like a dozen of them.
Edit: Assume the speaker isn't pausing because "like" isn't being used as filler. It's being used to convey an approximation.
Solution 1:
'Like' isn't an exact replacement for 'about'. The word is admittedly used in a bewildering number of ways, but in this sort of usage, I think there has to be a pragmatic content. So perhaps we could paraphrase as
'There were ... I'd say [...] around a dozen of them'.
'Like' is often used as a bleached conversational filler, merely a variation on '... er ...'.
like ... (PAUSE)
used in conversation as a pause or to emphasize an adjective:
He's, like, really friendly – someone you can talk to.
If there's nothing you can do to change the situation, it's like – why bother?
{CED} [note the commas or dash]
So even though using 'like' here quite possibly does include a modal ('I can't say exactly how many') significance,
like [informal]
Used in speech as a meaningless filler or to signify the speaker's uncertainty about an expression [, one usually] just used.
There was this funny smell – sort of dusty like.
I just – you know, I just kind of like mind my own business.
{ODO}
there is also the pause for thought. I'd say this requires the commas.
Dropping the commas strongly suggests to me an archaic ('like' for 'likely', heading for 'were like to be') usage, or an affectation ('like' used merely because it's considered to sound cool).