Literally now literally means not literally
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PB 369,783 wrote:
Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English,
Grammatical errors like this literally make my blood boil. /ravi
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Grammar and vocabularies are snapshots in time. The human language does not evolve from committee. If it did, we would all still be using those silly British spellings for words.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost "All users always want Excel" --Ennis Lynch
Yes I agree with the language evolving, what I don't agree with is a word that is now ambiguous when it's sole purpose is to clear up ambiguity. If I was actually pulling my hair out I would say 'I'm literally pulling my hair out', now however that sentence doesn't tell you whether I am or not.
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Seems the usage has evolved from proper usage when exaggerating into improper usage when exaggerating. Proper usage (IMO) when exaggerating is to include some form of the word "think". For example (using your examples), 'This literally made my blood boil" came from "I literally thought it was going to make my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling" came from "I literally thought I would climb the ceiling". These are acceptable because the literal is on the thought. Sure you may have literally "thought" it. Now did you really think that? Doubt it. Seems like you are exaggerating your perception at the time. Then we account for the massive amounts of stupid people in the world and they just drop key parts to the phrase. Sometimes I literally think I am the only one that sees these patterns in the world. (Oh no... did I just start a new one?)
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
We have had exactly the same trend in Norwegian. It is not an import from English: The words are quite different - "literally" = "bokstavlig talt" (literally: spoken letter by letter). "Bokstavlig talt" has taken the meaning of "almost". I guess we just have to accept that language evolves. Are there anyone else around remembering when the Internet was definitely NOT an internet? An internet is (or rather: was) a network for interconnecting a heterogenous set of networks, employing dissimilar network protocols (or at least disjunct addressing schemes, like separate X.25 networks internetted through X.75). At the next Networking Department cocktail party, try quoting RFC791 on this, to support that the original intention of Internet IP was exactly that, to interconnect dissimilar networks. Not to serve as an end to end protocol. Either you will be thrown out immediately, or you will spend the rest of the night in a heated debate where everybody else fiercely oppose you, no matter which RFC791 quotes you present.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
I feel you... literally, the good thing is that in portuguese literally still means literally, but I literally have seen some cases where it is literally not literally.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson ---- Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
Please look up "Hyperbole" in the dictionary. This should solve the issue for you. P.S. Get a life. ;P
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Tom Clement wrote:
"Virtually unstoppable" = "Not unstoppable"
That only means it can be overridden to be stoppable.
I'm brazilian and english (well, human languages in general) aren't my best skill, so, sorry by my english. (if you want we can speak in C# or VB.Net =p) "Given the chance I'd rather work smart than work hard." - PHS241 "'Sophisticated platform' typically means 'I have no idea how it works.'"
This seems on topic... Your signature should read:
I'm brazilian and eEnglish (well, human languages in general) aren't my best skill, so, sorry by for my eEnglish. (if you want we can speak in C# or VB.Net =p)
Your nationality should probably start with a capital too (ie "Brazilian"), but if you ask me it's a common noun so it makes sense to start with a lowercase letter. "English" as in "The English Language" is a proper noun though, and capitalizing the word would also help parse the sentence. Disclaimer: I'm not a native English speaker either. Also, if your signature is tongue-in-cheek then it's all right.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
Language is always evolving, just as the linked article points out. This use of the word goes back centuries. Getting hung up over changes in language isn't going to stop it and dictionaries always report common usage. Modern media (even TV) have accelerated the changes ("gay", "wicked", ...) I'll join you in a rearguard action to protect our language, but we "literally" lost this one many years ago! I save my rants for such horrors as aberrant apostrophes, your versus you're (or worse, there/their/they're) and loose versus lose! :)
Life is like a s**t sandwich; the more bread you have, the less s**t you eat.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
I agree totally; it's probably the biggest irritant of any, when it comes to diction. However, another is when people spell "too" as "to."
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So if I say 'I'm literally pulling my hair out' How do you know if I'm actually pulling my hair out or not? It introduces ambiguity to a word that's sole purpose is to remove ambiguity.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
I literarily agree.
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I agree totally; it's probably the biggest irritant of any, when it comes to diction. However, another is when people spell "too" as "to."
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Clearly, here "Virtually" = "Almost". Which in context also means practically or actually.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert EinsteinBrilliant! So virtually indistructable means literally almost indistructable. I love English. But it does suffer as a means of communication. On the other hand, what fun is it if there isn't enough ambiguity to play with?? The French go to great extreemes to keep their language pure, but I do not think that appropriate. But at it's core - all communication worth having is art and thus must be beautiful, whimsical, inventive, sometimes informitave, and yes - ambiguous in measure.
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I'd think that's still a case of exaggeration, I've never known anyone to literally pull their hair out. That's what makes it clear - context. And of course other things like tone that may not come across well in writing.
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
Begging the Question is often used when Raising the Question is correct Begging the Question is a logical fallacy which results from circular logic
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I used to get excited about such blatant corruption, but now that the number of people too lazy or ignorant to use their own native language correctly far exceeds the number of us who care, it hardly seems worth the effort. Let them drown in their stupidity... :|
Will Rogers never met me.
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I'd think that's still a case of exaggeration, I've never known anyone to literally pull their hair out. That's what makes it clear - context. And of course other things like tone that may not come across well in writing.
Nah, if anyone said they had "literally pulled their hair out" I would assume they meant that they had physical wrenched the hair from the follicles. Otherwise, what's the point of the word? But then there are a number of other words used inappropriately to apply stress to a point. For example, "absolutely", "incredibly", "awesome". I do think that the language is losing a lot of its richness because of the lack of imagination of the utterers. Oh, and I would ban the word "like" when used as a substitute for breathing.
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PB 369,783 wrote:
particularly gets on my tits
Really? And your complaining about "literally"?
-NP Never underestimate the creativity of the end-user.
You're ... oh I get it, you're being ironic. :D
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Now I don't normally get to pedantic about English, grammar etc but this one[^] particularly gets on my tits. Both the wrong usage of it and the fact it is now going in the Dictionary because people can't use it properly. What do others think of this? To give an example 'This literally made my blood boil" and "I was literally climbing the ceiling". I mean if literally means not literally then how can we emphasise that "We literally shat ourselves" for example. I'm off home as this has wound me up.
I'm surprised that no one has brought it up already so I'll play the role of the pedantic grammar Nazi: >>Now I don't normally get to pedantic...<< should be >>Now I don't normally get too pedantic...<< Now that I've gotten that off of my two tits I'll get back to the point, and say that I, too, find it offensive that "literally" is being used figuratively.