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Opium
2015-10-02 04:53:12 pm
I don't get uptight about language in general, you can tell by reading my shit.  I do have a couple of peeves.  This one just bothers me because for my whole life the only time someone said 'literally' when they were actually speaking figuratively they looked like an idiot because they were using a word that they didn't understand. Everyone knows what 'literal' means, so why is 'literally' such an enigma?  Chock it off as one more word or phrase that is so widely misused that it's just easier to change the definition than it is to get people to think about what they're saying.
BioSpark
BioSpark
Edit history:
BioSpark: 2015-10-02 04:55:16 pm
2015-10-02 04:54:41 pm
that's the thing though, language changes. so it's only "wrong" if you're comparing today's usage to its usage many years ago.

but i'll stop there because i know this discussion won't go anywhere :)
Opium
Opium
Edit history:
Opium: 2015-10-02 04:57:14 pm
2015-10-02 04:57:05 pm
yes language does change, and I'm all for new words being created by pop culture, or new things needing a word to define them, or words being redefined because of a brand or a fad, but when the only reason it's changing is because people couldn't think about what they were saying it's kind of pathetic.
BioSpark
2015-10-02 04:59:23 pm
eh, people like to innovate with language. maybe the kids'll start using figuratively to mean literally
Opium
2015-10-02 05:03:04 pm
Quote from BioSpark:
eh, people like to innovate with language. maybe the kids'll start using figuratively to mean literally


If they did that as an innovation vs. out of ignorance then heck why not
Idkbutlike2
2015-10-02 05:09:12 pm
The vast majority of lingual changes that have happened over the years ARE due to people who are ignorant. The literate elite in generations past have always been way more conservative.
Opium
2015-10-02 05:11:41 pm
I can't think of many.  Teach me.
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:11:49 pm
red chamber dream
Quote from Opium:
yes language does change, and I'm all for new words being created by pop culture, or new things needing a word to define them, or words being redefined because of a brand or a fad, but when the only reason it's changing is because people couldn't think about what they were saying it's kind of pathetic.

it doesn't matter what you think or what your opinion is. words garner new meaning over time and have for hundreds of years, and it's almost always because people don't think about what they're saying. and there's nothing wrong with that ... it's how human language works.
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:12:21 pm
red chamber dream
there is no "correct" english, only what particular people say is correct. there's no rule saying you have to listen to them.
Opium
2015-10-02 05:14:17 pm
Quote from arkarian:
Quote from Opium:
yes language does change, and I'm all for new words being created by pop culture, or new things needing a word to define them, or words being redefined because of a brand or a fad, but when the only reason it's changing is because people couldn't think about what they were saying it's kind of pathetic.

it doesn't matter what you think or what your opinion is. words garner new meaning over time and have for hundreds of years, and it's almost always because people don't think about what they're saying. and there's nothing wrong with that ... it's how human language works.


I know that. Why are you pretending to not understand that the only thing I find pathetic is the fact that the word changed because people were stupid?  I'm well aware that language evolves constantly for many reason, and it should.  Words fall out of favor, new words are created, people decide to redefine words for a bunch of reasons that have nothing to do with people being too stupid, etc etc.  Great.  I know.  Cool.
Opium
2015-10-02 05:15:06 pm
You're just going to keep saying shit that I already know on purpose to piss me off.
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:15:38 pm
red chamber dream
not really, i just don't think it's pathetic ... if it's something perfectly natural for the average human do, how could that be pathetic
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:15:40 pm
red chamber dream
we're only human after all
Idkbutlike2
2015-10-02 05:16:18 pm
Quote from Opium:
I can't think of many.  Teach me.

Well, you'll never know most of them because they weren't written down.
Opium
2015-10-02 05:17:06 pm
Quote from arkarian:
not really, i just don't think it's pathetic ... if it's something perfectly natural for the average human do, how could that be pathetic


If it's perfectly natural and average to not think about what the words you're using actually mean, opting to just use them simply because you're a stupid parrot with no regard for their meaning, then yes that is pathetic.
arkarian
arkarian
Edit history:
arkarian: 2015-10-02 05:18:28 pm
2015-10-02 05:18:24 pm
red chamber dream
lol if you say so

language is supposed to come naturally to people ... you're not supposed to have to think about it
Opium
2015-10-02 05:19:01 pm
Quote from Idkbutlike2:
Quote from Opium:
I can't think of many.  Teach me.

Well, you'll never know most of them because they weren't written down.


I think a lot of it changed for reasons that seem like laziness but it's really not, it's just the language evolving.  I find that distinctly different than the reason that 'literally' changed.
Opium
2015-10-02 05:19:51 pm
Quote from arkarian:
lol if you say so

language is supposed to come naturally to people ... you're not supposed to have to think about it


Now I know you're trolling. 
BioSpark
2015-10-02 05:20:08 pm
well people create extensions of existing meanings. they don't just use words randomly

literally is just used as an intensifier sometimes
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:21:22 pm
red chamber dream
no, i'm really not

most people don't care about language nearly as much as you or i do, and there's nothing wrong with that. that's my point. people shouldn't care about whether they're being perfectly "correct" (because there is no such thing as "correct" english) in their speech. who gives a shit. the only point of language is to convey meaning. if you understand the meaning but complain about the way it was conveyed, you're being pedantic and silly.
Opium
2015-10-02 05:21:41 pm
Quote from BioSpark:
well people create extensions of existing meanings. they don't just use words randomly

literally is just used as an intensifier sometimes


Yes and the only reason people started using it as an intensifier is because they heard someone else use it properly and erroneously assumed that the person was using it as an intensifier.  This baffles me because everyone already knows what 'literal' means, so why is it so hard to connect the dots?
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:21:53 pm
red chamber dream
Quote from Opium:
I think a lot of it changed for reasons that seem like laziness but it's really not, it's just the language evolving.  I find that distinctly different than the reason that 'literally' changed.

it is really no different. not at all. this kind of thing has been happening for hundreds of years.
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:22:19 pm
red chamber dream
look at hewn and cleaved
Idkbutlike2
2015-10-02 05:22:30 pm
If people really cared about maintaining consistency in language, we'd still be pronouncing c's like k's and other shit like that.
arkarian
2015-10-02 05:22:38 pm
red chamber dream
or we'd be speaking french, yeah