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If we redefine everything based on what 9 out of 10 people do, what will the 1 out of 10 do that are trying to communicate effectively using precise terminology
by epicureanideal 15y ago
If we redefine everything based on what 9 out of 10 people do, what will the 1 out of 10 do that are trying to communicate effectively using precise terminology that wait... no longer exists for the concept they're trying to convey.
- adriand 15y agoIt won't matter that they can't communicate, since they will have been marginalized as pedants.
- cellis 15y agoMaybe by learning a bit about etymology.
- hugh3 15y agoWhat do insects have to do with it?
- shabble 15y agoMuch as I sympathise with this view, communication isn't about what you say, it's about what the other person hears.
- rhizome 15y agoIf 9 out of 10 people use it a particular way, it has already been redefined. What we're talking about here is the difference between prescriptive and descriptive linguistics: definition-oriented vs. usage-oriented.
- StavrosK 15y agoIf you're telling prescriptivists to stop prescribing, aren't you being a prescriptivist for descriptivism? Descriptivism lets language evolve. Prescriptivism (people trying to push it back) is part of that evolution. According to your principles, you should just accept it as the way the language evolves.
- rhizome 15y agoPrescriptivism provides the foundation for descriptivism's point of departure, and descriptivism provides for the evolution of language. They are part and parcel to each other.