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Sums it up quite precisely (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 days ago by to c/progressivepolitics@lemmy.world
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[–] 3 points 4 days ago (4 children)

I understand your point, but it's a losing battle. Words change as people use them. Language evolves. A lot of modern vocabulary is bastardized from its origin. It's not authoritarians necessarily poisoning language, even though it can be.

Socialism "was" a poisoned term, that I think has slowly returned to it's meaning.

Example: Nice

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago (3 children)

    If that's the case than literally now literally always means "figuratively."

    And sometimes, it does, when used incorrectly or sarcastically, but that doesn't mean that the literal definition of "literally" is no more.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago (2 children)

    Literally, yes

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago (1 child)

    That would mean the concept of "literality" no longer exists, but you just used it, (I'm taking your words literally, to mean that you believe "literal" now means "figurative" in perpetuity) so it must still exist. I also just used it, so even if you meant "literally" figuratively, the literal definition still exists, because I just used it.

    You see why we can't just say "oh welp words change" now? They do but also if nothing has meaning just stop speaking languages at this point because they're, well, meaningless.

    Hell I'll give you another popular example, you ever watched South Park? You remember the biker episode? They argue the same thing you do here, that words change meaning, but about a different word (and with a better case for it, no less). You wanna defend the evolved use of that word publicly here right now?

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago

    My god, I was being facetious in that last comment. I was merely highlighting that your frustration was not going to change the course of people's use of language.

    I'm not arguing that definitions are meaningless.

    Chill.

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