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Etymology is irrelevant in emotionally charged discussions. Context matters.

• stefantalpalaru 12y ago
  Etymology is always relevant in the analysis of natural languages. Emotions? Not so much. > Context matters. It does. The context is a relatively progressive media organization that is afraid to write certain words because they might interfere with the nation-wide policy of linking their acceptable usage to the color of the speaker's skin.
  • _delirium 12y ago
    In modern linguistics, etymology is given far less weight than it was in the pre-scientific days of philology. So no, etymology is not "always" relevant; arguments based on etymology are typically given weight only in historical contexts (e.g. tracing language evolution, or lexical borrowings). They give very little insight about present meaning, and especially not about pragmatics.