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Author Topic: What the hell, English?  (Read 11950 times)

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Witherweaver

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #50 on: September 30, 2017, 06:53:14 pm »
0

Literally in this context has virtually no meaning apart from emphasis, just like swear words when they are used as adjectives or adverbs.

This is fucking literally the best fucking thing in this thread.


Did you not see the post about the machine for eating pickles and trolling forums?
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infangthief

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Re: Biweekly, bimonthly, etc.
« Reply #51 on: October 01, 2017, 01:14:18 am »
+1

These days sometimes people use "actually" to mean "literally," because no-one complains about that yet.

Or maybe because it still means what it's supposed to mean, unlike "literally"?
I don't follow you. It's the same. In "I ate a million pickles," "a million" means "a million," even though I did not eat a million pickles. In "I literally ate a million pickles," "literally" means "literally" (in the sense of "actually," not, "word-for-word"). In "I actually ate a million pickles," "actually" means "actually."

If you are saying "literally should only mean word-for-word," well that ship sailed even earlier.
I believe the use of "literal", to mean word-for-word, is still firmly in port, so I think it unlikely that the corresponding meaning of "literally" has quite rounded Cape Horn yet.
I don't know what you mean by this. I don't know what you are referring to when you say "the corresponding meaning of literally," or how you are using your metaphors. My best guess is that you are saying that non-"word-for-word" uses of "literally" must be lacking legitimacy due to the continued use of "literally" in the "word-for-word" sense; that doesn't make any sense though, lots of words mean more than one thing with ease.

I don't mind if you don't wish to explain yourself, or if LF doesn't; I am just telling you, that is how the communication has gone so far. All I can do is try to interpret the words that appear on my monitor.
Ok, I get it now. I misunderstood you first time. I thought you were saying 'literally ceased to mean word-for-word long ago' whereas in fact you were saying 'literally ceased to only mean word-for-word long ago.' You used the word 'only' and everything, I just missed it, sorry.
I think LF's point, which I agree with, is that if (somehow) I ate a million pickles I would probably want to tell someone. But how? People would think I was exaggerating. Add 'literally' and people would still think I was exaggerating. Use 'actually' instead and well maybe I might start to convince people.
Anyway, time to eat some pickles and head over to the brag board.
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Donald X.

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Re: Biweekly, bimonthly, etc.
« Reply #52 on: October 01, 2017, 02:44:03 am »
+2

These days sometimes people use "actually" to mean "literally," because no-one complains about that yet.

Or maybe because it still means what it's supposed to mean, unlike "literally"?
I see I see. When I said "These days sometimes people use actually to mean literally," what I meant was, these days sometimes people use the word "actually" to exaggerate. Because no-one complains about that yet. I see how that was confusing. But I mean. I wouldn't have thought to say that people use "actually" to mean "actually." Of course they do.

Living in the woods
Shia LaBeouf
Killing for sport
Shia LaBeouf
Eating all the bodies
Actual cannibal Shia LaBeouf


Rob Cantor - Shia LaBeouf

And if you haven't seen the video, go see it right now.

if (somehow) I ate a million pickles I would probably want to tell someone. But how? People would think I was exaggerating. Add 'literally' and people would still think I was exaggerating. Use 'actually' instead and well maybe I might start to convince people.
The real world has no such problem; it is purely imaginary. When you are exaggerating and use the word "literally," you already have an over-the-top exaggeration, e.g. "a million pickles." You can't eat a million pickles; if you say you literally ate a million pickles, it is absolutely clear that you are exaggerating. When you want to stress that something actually happened, the number will not defy reality; it will not be the kind of number you use to exaggerate. Or you know, the non-number, whatever it is.
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infangthief

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #53 on: October 02, 2017, 01:41:50 am »
+2

these days sometimes people use the word "actually" to exaggerate.

Wow, yes, people do use 'actually' that way. It hadn't really registered with me before.

Ah what a sorry state. Words' usages developing to include their opposite meanings. Nothing new, I know, but it does seem to be an one-way trend.

Someone once said 'let your yes be yes and your no be no'. That sounds like a more healthy way forward.
« Last Edit: October 02, 2017, 01:58:41 am by infangthief »
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Accatitippi

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #54 on: October 02, 2017, 02:07:03 am »
0

Literally has become a marker word for hyperbole. A lot of people have troubles pickling up hyperbole and irony, particularly in written form, so it serves a noble purpose in the grand scheme of communication in English.
Of course in literature it's a bit stale, to put it gently. (Euphemism)
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Kuildeous

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #55 on: October 02, 2017, 10:18:14 am »
+1

Ah what a sorry state. Words' usages developing to include their opposite meanings. Nothing new, I know, but it does seem to be an one-way trend.

Like when inflammable means flammable. #cueDrNick

That word really bugs me.
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pacovf

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #56 on: October 02, 2017, 11:14:02 am »
+2

I think the problem with that is that "flammable" shouldn't be a word. Something "inflammable" is something that you can "inflame".
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pingpongsam

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #57 on: October 02, 2017, 01:18:15 pm »
0

So, Awaclus came to troll the forum and eat pickles, and he's all out of pickles?
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Awaclus

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #58 on: October 02, 2017, 02:06:36 pm »
0

The fact that "trolling" has lost its original meaning is the worst though.
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DG

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #59 on: October 02, 2017, 02:27:36 pm »
0

The fact that "trolling" has lost its original meaning is the worst though.

Reclaim the word.
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pingpongsam

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #60 on: October 03, 2017, 09:10:40 am »
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The fact that "trolling" has literally lost its original meaning is the worst though.

FTFY
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Kuildeous

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #61 on: October 03, 2017, 10:45:04 am »
+4

The fact that "trolling" has literally lost its original meaning is the worst though.

FTFY

It literally changes bimonthly.
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Witherweaver

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #62 on: October 04, 2017, 08:44:46 am »
+3

"Up for" and "down for" mean the same thing.
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ThetaSigma12

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #63 on: October 04, 2017, 09:00:18 am »
+3

Tear and tear are pronounced differently, but tear and tier are pronounced the same.
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Witherweaver

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Re: What the hell, English?
« Reply #64 on: October 04, 2017, 09:17:44 am »
+3

Tear and tear are pronounced differently, but tear and tier are pronounced the same.

Tears me up.
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