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Actually, deter has two uses. From MW: Definition of deter transitive verb 1 : to turn aside, discourage, or prevent from acting she would
by dllthomas 6y ago
Actually, deter has two uses. From MW:
Definition of deter
transitive verb
1 : to turn aside, discourage, or prevent from acting
she would not be deterred by threats
2 : inhibit
painting to deter rust
I have also seen "crime" and "war" given in examples of sense 2. To "deter the language", in sense 2, would be to deter speakers from using the language. You can sort of unify the two senses by treating "rust" or "war" or "crime" as willful entities - but in that case I don't see a reason you couldn't do the same for a language.
Do you actually fail to understand what pvaldes was trying to communicate?
- lottin 6y agoWell, I know the general idea that he's trying to convey, since it's the same sort of message that I read in the nationalist press (e.g. El Mundo) day in day out, but I think if you intend to have a productive discussion you have to talk precisely, otherwise it's a waste of time. To say that a language is being "deterred" is not precise, it's vague and confusing, even if not technically incorrect (although I doubt that).