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In the context I think it’s clear what they mean.
by reidjs 4y ago
In the context I think it’s clear what they mean.
- karamanolev 4y agoDoes it matter with regards to the above comments? In this context, right now, it's clear. As we start losing track of the precise meaning of words, we'll get an increasing population size that doesn't even know the alternative exists. It's inevitable to then start using them in contexts where both spellings/meanings are valid and using the wrong one results in confusion.
- pkage 4y agoI'm not sure pearl-clutching about losing the meaning of words is appropriate, it seems like a small mistake from the editing team slipped through.
- BalinKing 4y agoThat’s just how languages evolve; there’s nothing particularly dangerous about it. (Besides, I really doubt there are many scenarios where “diffuse” and “defuse” could reasonably be confused.)
- smolder 4y agoPeople say this evolution thing about language frequently but not all changes are positive for a languages utility, clearly. It can get better and it can get worse. When words start meaning their opposite and then consequently nothing, like with "literally", that's evolving away from usefulness.
- BLKNSLVR 4y agoDevolves. If meaning is abstracted by multiple words spelt different ways and context specific understanding is required, then there will be a greater cognitive load to reach 'understanding' and the language will move away from it's goal of conveying meaning. This is a long tail, but it's not like we've only just started down it. I actually find misspelling and bad phraseology to judge how seriously I should take a person's opinion, though factored in amongst other things (if it's obvious that English is their second language, or if their field of expertise may be one that eschews language skills, for example).
- giraffe_lady 4y agoThere is no language that isn't effective at conveying meaning, because doing that is fundamental to what language is. People have been complaining and worrying about this since, literally, the beginning of recorded history. Our language is much "devolved" specifically in the ways many of them were worried about, and yet we are still having this conversation in it. You might not like how it tastes in your mouth but it'll still work fine for the needs we have of it, as all languages always have.
- giraffe_lady 4y agoThey're phonetically identical in most dialects so no meaning was confused here, it's a simple transcription error. The way you say "spelling/meaning" implies you think they're the same thing but they just absolutely are not, as much as that pains pedants sometimes. If you think otherwise you're mistaken about very basic and long-confirmed foundations of linguistics, like whether meaning derives from the spoken form or the writing system.
- pessimizer 4y agoIn contacts, it's probably pretty clear what I mean here, too. A lot of incorrect things become interpretable when viewed in contacts.