For me I say that a truck with a cab longer than its bed is not a truck, but an SUV with an overgrown bumper.

  • KidDogDad@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Former linguistics grad student here: The meaning of “literal” is changing, and sentences like “That guy is literally 500 years old” are correct.

    • circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      Yes. Ling PhD here – after teaching for 10+ years, the thing most people consistently do not understand about language is: the dictionary does not define what words mean. Dictionaries at best are a representation of what words meant at one time, and those meanings change quickly and pervasively enough that there is constantly a non-zero* number of words for which the dictionary is already wrong.

      *in actuality it’s probably significantly higher than what is connotated by “non-zero”

    • HalJor@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      [Waves from the other hill] I will never accept that usage of “literal” as correct.

      • KidDogDad@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Sees you from a few hills away: Oh my gosh we’re literally right next to each other! 😜

    • Zummy@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      As a fellow linguistics student here, completely agree. I randomly get those ‘grammar nazis’ like “doesnt that sort of stuff upset you?” like nahh man that stuff is fascinating! Don’t lump me in with you, pleaseee.

    • sorchist@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      I agree and will take it further. We don’t even need to posit a change in the meaning of the word, we need only assume that when people use the word literally, they do not mean the word “literally” literally, they mean it figuratively.

      Who says you have to use the word “literally” literally? You don’t have to say the word “loudly” loudly!

        • HalJor@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Back when I was in grade school, there were kids saying “as long as you know what I mean, it doesn’t matter”. If a word means two different/conflicting things, how can we possibly know what you mean? See also: bimonthly.

    • Yozul@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Do people actually use it that way anymore though? I haven’t heard anybody do it in a long time.