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I know it is a trivial point, but it's annoying to see somebody as bright as Shuttleworth misuse the phrase "begs the question."
by michael_dorfman 15y ago
I know it is a trivial point, but it's annoying to see somebody as bright as Shuttleworth misuse the phrase "begs the question."
- Luyt 15y agoWikiPedia on this: "Many English speakers use "begs the question" to mean "raises the question"; for example, "this year's deficit is half a trillion dollars, which begs the question: how are we ever going to balance the budget?" Many philosophers and prescriptive linguists deem such usage incorrect. Academic linguist Mark Liberman recommends avoiding the phrase entirely."
- hasenj 15y agoHow is that a misuse? Meaning changes depending on context, it's a well known feature of natural languages.
- michael_dorfman 15y agoMeaning changes, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible for a native speaker to make an error. In this case, the phrase has a well-documented meaning (and a long history), and the usage here is clearly a misuse.
- hasenj 15y agoWhen lots of people make the same error, it gradually becomes part of the language.