DailyDirt: Technology Is Changing The Way We Talk Because Internetz, LOL

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Sometimes we can't even agree on the definitions of words, so it's not too hard to find examples of changes in communication technologies altering how we use words. Text messages on phones have made us lazy to spell words correctly or to spell out entire words or common phrases. Language is inherently flexible, and here are just a few ways some parts of our language have changed.

• Linguists are officially recognizing that "because" is being used in a new way and have dubbed it the "prepositional-because" when it is followed immediately by a noun. However, the prepositional-because isn't limited to being followed by a noun, it can also be followed by verbs, adjectives, interjections and adverbs. [url]
• In case you didn't know, the simple period as a punctuation mark can be used to indicate anger. Yes. It. Can. [url]
• The ubiquitous LOL is becoming nearly meaningless -- no one is really laughing (quietly or audibly). LOL can be used sarcastically to indicate something isn't funny or just whenever a person doesn't know what else to say... so it's the new "like, yeah, um, well, really" word. [url]

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Filed Under: grammar, language, lol, meaning, messaging, prepositional-because, punctuation, text, words

DailyDirt: Can We At Least Agree On The Meanings Of Words?

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There are all kinds of silly arguments online, but perhaps the most common are arguments over the meanings of words. Some folks like to think that words should have static definitions, and all other usage is incorrect usage. Others don't care about the exact meaning of words, and they're not careful with their word choices... or they just make up new words to fit whatever they're trying to say. Language is funny; it evolves and changes -- and sometimes people are just wrong in how they choose their words. Here are just a few examples of word meanings that hopefully don't set off some crazy semantic arguments.

• Grammar nerds (or nazis) are fuming at a new definition of "literally" which actually makes the word into a synonym for "figuratively" -- so now people who previously used "literally" incorrectly can now point to the dictionary and say they're using the word correctly. Three different dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster, have added this informal definition as a way to use the word literally for emphasis or as hyperbole. [url]
• In the 1660s, the word terrific meant frightening or horrible, but by the late 1800s, it started to mean excellent or great. The English language actually has several examples of words that have become to mean the opposite of their original definitions. [url]
• Words aren't the only components of language that can evolve different meanings -- some punctuation marks have moved beyond their formerly limited roles. The word "slash" is now a new conjunction or conjunctive adverb. It used to be funny how punctuation could change the meaning of words.... [url]

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Filed Under: conjunction, dictionary, grammar, language, literally, punctuation, semantics, slash, synonym, terrific, words