i would agree with you if anyone actually used a sane definition of what “political right” meant. i don’t really see that happening today so i have difficulty agreeing with you.
The meaning of “literally” now includes “Used non-literally as an intensifier for figurative statements: virtually (often considered incorrect; see usage notes).” And “Used as an intensive before a figurative expression.”
I think fighting language changes is a bit like standing firm against an avalanche. Ultimately if you want to communicate with people you’ve gotta speak their language.
There is some truth to that, but taking it at face value leaves the door wide open for malicious interference. Like, for example, redefining the entirety of the spectrum into your preferred range, leaving anyone outside of it both stripped of language to self-define and by default branded a loony.
Don’t get me wrong, language war is a thing, especially from liberal and fascist media. I just think making a case for a deeply held belief in a word to be wrong is unhelpful to just advocating for things they like. It’s scholarly or long-form discussions where it makes sense to dispell that, but with media existing entirely in soundbites of their choosing I don’t think it’s the best way to move the needle towards results to also have to fight a bunch of unfounded fear.
Depends. I’m not big on prescriptivism, and pedantry is fun but counterproductive, but at the end of the day, language is a tool of communication. If you let people fuck with it too much it breaks down, and you end up in a loop of “-No, socialism doesn’t work-Norway works-No, that’s not socialism-OK, let’s do that-No, socialism doesn’t work-”. Like, in this thread, you have a jackass who thinks “drug legislation”, whatever that is, is an inherently leftist position. One thread over, you’re talking to a jackass who thinks rent control is left wing economics, and doesn’t even read your reply if you don’t follow the Leftist owned-ass script he’s been rehearsing in his head since he saw Ben Shapiro do it. If you let people make up what words mean, they’ll build themselves a whole alternate reality and get lost in the sauce completely.
i would agree with you if anyone actually used a sane definition of what “political right” meant. i don’t really see that happening today so i have difficulty agreeing with you.
but yes.
Being delusional is not an excuse.
As annoying as the consensus on some words can be, prescriptivism is generally not very productive.
The meaning of “literally” now includes “Used non-literally as an intensifier for figurative statements: virtually (often considered incorrect; see usage notes).” And “Used as an intensive before a figurative expression.”
I think fighting language changes is a bit like standing firm against an avalanche. Ultimately if you want to communicate with people you’ve gotta speak their language.
There is some truth to that, but taking it at face value leaves the door wide open for malicious interference. Like, for example, redefining the entirety of the spectrum into your preferred range, leaving anyone outside of it both stripped of language to self-define and by default branded a loony.
Don’t get me wrong, language war is a thing, especially from liberal and fascist media. I just think making a case for a deeply held belief in a word to be wrong is unhelpful to just advocating for things they like. It’s scholarly or long-form discussions where it makes sense to dispell that, but with media existing entirely in soundbites of their choosing I don’t think it’s the best way to move the needle towards results to also have to fight a bunch of unfounded fear.
Depends. I’m not big on prescriptivism, and pedantry is fun but counterproductive, but at the end of the day, language is a tool of communication. If you let people fuck with it too much it breaks down, and you end up in a loop of “-No, socialism doesn’t work-Norway works-No, that’s not socialism-OK, let’s do that-No, socialism doesn’t work-”. Like, in this thread, you have a jackass who thinks “drug legislation”, whatever that is, is an inherently leftist position. One thread over, you’re talking to a jackass who thinks rent control is left wing economics, and doesn’t even read your reply if you don’t follow the Leftist owned-ass script he’s been rehearsing in his head since he saw Ben Shapiro do it. If you let people make up what words mean, they’ll build themselves a whole alternate reality and get lost in the sauce completely.
Literally