You Can Literally Use the Word Literally, Literally Anyway You Want?

[sallow]

Oh please, do you want laws, contracts, etc, written by a millennial? How about
Important political discussions and debates conducted by people who can't agree about the meanings of words. Everyone and his mother talk about all of us being "on the same page", but the fucking page is made up of words. We are fast becoming an illiterate society. This subject gets my dander up. Sorry if I have offended anyone.

Well, you would have to try much harder if you wanted to offend me. I wasn't talking about laws or anyone's mother, just the fact that humans innovate, and the way we communicate is no exception. I think we are discussing different things.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"Many have even gotten too lazy to even pronounce entire words like merchandise."

This reminds me of a post I made some while ago admonishing Americans for losing the letter 't' in words or worse still replacing it with a 'd'.

"The year twenny twenny the Democradic pardy voded...."

" They did their doody and went into baddle..... "

Languages are fluid and dynamic but I wonder how long it will be before American English becomes so far removed from English English that we need a dictionary to explain the differences!

Regards,

Jay.?

 

[pantsBoots]

I know, I know, it's the new F-bomb for millennials. You can literally replace the word with "fucking" and it will still carry the same meaning and intended emphasis.

I was on the Facebook the other day and was reading my daughters' posts to keep up with what they are up to out in the big ol' world, and one of them had posted something where they had used the term "literally" and someone had corrected them. I know, I know, it doesn't sound right in my logical world of "figurative" verses "literal". But, it got me to thinking... in a moment of questioning my rationale, I Googled it, and low and behold there are two definitions for the word.

View attachment 64033

"Used for emphasis or to express strong feelings..." WTF!? So, anyone can literally use the word however they want?

So, I guess it is the new F-bomb. It just doesn't sound smart, but I guess it is still better than dropping F-bombs for emotive reasons. So, I have to stop correcting millennials. :::sigh:::

Anyways, I know that we have a few other Grammar Nazis like me on here. What do you think?

Language is a fluid, living organism that evolves among groups and cultures and, often, within individuals as well in which one can literally coin new phrases and resurrect old ones with or without modification. I leave you with Humpty Dumpty's take as written by Lewis Carroll:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Language is a fluid, living organism that evolves among groups and cultures and, often, within individuals as well in which one can literally coin new phrases and resurrect old ones with or without modification. I leave you with Humpty Dumpty's take as written by Lewis Carroll:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master—that's all."

English would be so much easier, if we just had one word that means everything we want it to mean. Mmmm, well... I bet we would still have some that would misspell it.

 

[pantsBoots]

I think that these younger folks just have a hard time reasoning the differences in the subtle uses of the language.

On one hand, yes, this flies in the face of academia and the polite agreements betwixt adults. On the other hand, language evolves with or without education and pedantry. One's best bet is to use language as one sees fit, but to also attempt to mesh with anyone else they're attempting to communicate with. After all, that is the purpose of language. I understand folks have forged careers centered around what is correct and what is not, but I don't find that tenable indefinitely, especially for those who are steadfast in their assertion that how it's been done is "correct." How old is modern English in its present form? A few hundred years?

 

[ofafeather]

English would be so much easier, if we just had one word that means everything we want it to mean. Mmmm, well... I bet we would still have some that would misspell it.

I vote all English should be spelled funetikalee.

 

[pantsBoots]

English would be so much easier, if we just had one word that means everything we want it to mean. Mmmm, well... I bet we would still have some that would misspell it.

Don't you dare take away my surrealism!

 

[JOHN72]

I'll be honest. I recognice,I don't like Paladin.....................Literally,no...................?

 

[ofafeather]

If anyone is interested in the difference between US and British language and culture there’s a fun vlog we watch on YouTube called “Lost In The Pond”. The gentleman is a British expat that married an American and has been living in Chicago for the past decade or so. It’s droll and also enlightening at times.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

On one hand, yes, this flies in the face of academia and the polite agreements betwixt adults. On the other hand, language evolves with or without education and pedantry. One's best bet is to use language as one sees fit, but to also attempt to mesh with anyone else they're attempting to communicate with. After all, that is the purpose of language. I understand folks have forged careers centered around what is correct and what is not, but I don't find that tenable indefinitely, especially for those who are steadfast in their assertion that how it's been done is "correct." How old is modern English in its present form? A few hundred years?

Really, in just the last 80 or so years, our language sounds immensely different. They did not use contractions as often as we do now. And, as Jay pointed out, we tend to slur similar sounds, like mixing up the sound of the T and D, soften the Rs, and don't define the differences in our vowels in many cases.

In Alabama, when a politician is elected and sent to Montgomery, I've always noticed that they start speaking differently. It is an area where the majority still speak an antebellum version English, slow, pronounced vowels... it's very rhythmic but slower than the way most Southerners speak.

I grew up in North Alabama, where we spoke something closer to mid-Atlantic... Think Cary Grant, even Don Knotts. This was a Warner Van Braun region, more international, because of NASA and the Arsenal's Nuclear arms race. But, the rest of the state would say that we spoke like Yankees. And, when I would leave the state, people assumed we were from California, unless we were actually in California.

But, of course, the more rural you get, the more stereotypical accents get. You could actually place where people grew up in the state from talking to them for just a few minutes. But, lately, everyone is becoming more enmeshed, except Montgomery. For some reason, I think that when people move there, they practice their speaking with mouths full of marbles.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ooooh, and a state with a rich variety of accents is Louisiana. It fascinates me to visit there and talk to people. There are rural areas where the accents sounds very similar to a fast paced New Jersey accent, and very hard to follow. Some antebellum, some... some I just can't even find comparisons. If you are into languages, Louisiana would be a gold mine of vocal serendipity.

 

[JOHN72]

Really, in just the last 80 or so years, our language sounds immensely different. They did not use contractions as often as we do now. And, as Jay pointed out, we tend to slur similar sounds, like mixing up the sound of the T and D, soften the Rs, and don't define the differences in our vowels in many cases.

In Alabama, when a politician is elected and sent to Montgomery, I've always noticed that they start speaking differently. It is an area where the majority still speak an antebellum version English, slow, pronounced vowels... it's very rhythmic but slower than the way most Southerners speak.

I grew up in North Alabama, where we spoke something closer to mid-Atlantic... Think Cary Grant, even Don Knotts. This was a Warner Van Braun region, more international, because of NASA and the Arsenal's Nuclear arms race. But, the rest of the state would say that we spoke like Yankees. And, when I would leave the state, people assumed we were from California, unless we were actually in California.

But, of course, the more rural you get, the more stereotypical accents get. You could actually place where people grew up in the state from talking to them for just a few minutes. But, lately, everyone is becoming more enmeshed, except Montgomery. For some reason, I think that when people move there, they practice their speaking with mouths full of marbles.

My translator is in mode USA.....................?

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I vote all English should be spelled funetikalee."

Noah Webster promoted that idea many moons ago!

Regards,

Jay.?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My translator is in mode USA.....................?

Mine is in Batman mode, ha ha.

Noah Webster promoted that idea many moons ago!

I used to have a teacher who said that it was definitely better if we just used the Sears catalog instead of a Websters, ha ha.

 

[pantsBoots]

Really, in just the last 80 or so years, our language sounds immensely different. They did not use contractions as often as we do now. And, as Jay pointed out, we tend to slur similar sounds, like mixing up the sound of the T and D, soften the Rs, and don't define the differences in our vowels in many cases.

In Alabama, when a politician is elected and sent to Montgomery, I've always noticed that they start speaking differently. It is an area where the majority still speak an antebellum version English, slow, pronounced vowels... it's very rhythmic but slower than the way most Southerners speak.

I grew up in North Alabama, where we spoke something closer to mid-Atlantic... Think Cary Grant, even Don Knotts. This was a Warner Van Braun region, more international, because of NASA and the Arsenal's Nuclear arms race. But, the rest of the state would say that we spoke like Yankees. And, when I would leave the state, people assumed we were from California, unless we were actually in California.

But, of course, the more rural you get, the more stereotypical accents get. You could actually place where people grew up in the state from talking to them for just a few minutes. But, lately, everyone is becoming more enmeshed, except Montgomery. For some reason, I think that when people move there, they practice their speaking with mouths full of marbles.

Yeah, the old south blue blood speak, as I call it internally, is really interesting in that it's almost like a Beverly Hillbillies version of aristocratic English - sort of like Middle-class Oxford. I also love that inland Carolina accent where "arm" becomes "arrum" and "r" becomes "arruh."

I've been in Tennessee for over 15 years and the local dialects are generally similar with respect to idioms, but vary in accent. A lot of words feature syllables replaced with an apostrophe but then other words in the same sentence take on additional syllables I never thought possible. Ever hear the word "tin" pronounced with 3 syllables? I had a coworker do that just 2 weeks ago and all I could do is stare in amazement at her. In case you can't tell from my few responses, language is a hobby of mine and something I'm fascinated with. There's something charming about two distinct bags of chemicals influencing each other's mental and emotional states by vibrating the atmosphere that lies between them.

And I can hear an Alabaman from a mile away, usually. It's a distinct accent compared to what I typically hear in Tennessee, even to where the southern counties in Tennessee sound different than those in Alabama mere miles away.

 

[ofafeather]

"I vote all English should be spelled funetikalee."

Noah Webster promoted that idea many moons ago!

Regards,

Jay.?

And look where that went! He should have just done it in his dictionary right off and forced it on the masses!

 

[pantsBoots]

And look where that went! He should have just done it in his dictionary right off and forced it on the masses!

I've read precious little Middle and Olde English works, but that was common then - there was no agreed-upon spelling, so writers spelled how ever they felt. When I think about it, it challenges the reader and thus contributes more to their development of critical thinking. Takeaway: dictionaries and proper spelling began our descent into mental laziness. At least that's what I get from that tidbit. Anyone with a beef regarding how millennials, hipsters, inner city people speak should ultimately take issue with Noah Webstar.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

And I can hear an Alabaman from a mile away, usually. It's a distinct accent compared to what I typically hear in Tennessee, even to where the southern counties in Tennessee sound different than those in Alabama mere miles away.

I know. I've had aunts move just across the state line and start speaking very differently. Isn't that amazing how fast we adapt. I worked with a Japanese student in grad school, and I was emulating his English very quickly. And, Mrs. Cosmic gives me grief every time I am on the phone with my mother. She will grab a pen or paintbrush and pretend it is a cigarette holder and start doing her impression of a Hollywood starlet, because I start in with my Mid-Atlantic, but then when I talk on the phone with guy from the farmer's co-op or the farmer's market, I sound like I am talking to the news reporter about my trailer park getting wiped out by a tornado, ha ha.

 

[pantsBoots]

I know. I've had aunts move just across the state line and start speaking very differently. Isn't that amazing how fast we adapt. I worked with a Japanese student in grad school, and I was emulating his English very quickly. And, Mrs. Cosmic gives me grief every time I am on the phone with my mother. She will grab a pen or paintbrush and pretend it is a cigarette holder and start doing her impression of a Hollywood starlet, because I start in with my Mid-Atlantic, but then when I talk on the phone with guy from the farmer's co-op or the farmer's market, I sound like I am talking to the news reporter about my trailer park getting wiped out by a tornado, ha ha.

You want to talk of embarrassment? Ok, after years of working in the construction industry, I talk like a native Tennessean. My wife and I were in Penzance for less than 24 hours and I already started shifting into "all roight, then" and "another pint, love." I guess I'm a chameleon? Or a poser. Take your pick

 

[mawnansmiff]

"And look where that went! He should have just done it in his dictionary right off and forced it on the masses!"

It wasn't necessary for him to do it, the masses opted for that route anyway. Compare labour/labor, honour/honor, flavour/flavor, neighbour/neighbor.....the list goes on.

Regards,

Jay.?