My favorite/worst example of language evolution is the word factoid. Factoid literally meant a thing resembling a fact (i.e. a false fact) which is believed to be true after being repeated in print. Now, those same writers who where presumably spreading factoids, have inverted its meaning to be 'a minor, but true fact' [0].
“Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
51–60 of 129 posts
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Sounds like freedom fighting to me (given my biases).
Why can’t it be both at the same time? I realise in some people’s usage the two terms are mutually exclusive, but not everyone agrees with that usage.
Sure. That is how perspectivism works.
Or, if you want to stretch a metaphor you could say that terrorism/freedom-fighting are in superposition.
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, not according to a reasonable definition of terrorism. It's terrorism if a group is intentionally attacking civilians (non-combatants) for political goals. Freedom fighters may or may not be terrorists, depending on whether they intentionally attack civilians or only hit military targets. What it means to intentionally attack someone is regulated by the Doctrine of Double Effect, is based on distinguishing betwee…
Obviously you would think your definition is the “reasonable” one. Until you find yourself having to engage in terro^H^H^H^H^H freedom fighting to achieve your own political goals.
I agree, what you describe is what terrorists think. Obviously, at some point in their life they persuade themselves that their political goals justify the intentional killing of innocent civilians. They go at great lengths with these justifications precisely because they are so obviously flawed. Attempts to justify their actions involve a mix of denying the Doctrine of Double Effects, speaking of necessary sacrifices, and of portraying innocent victims as guilty collaborators.
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Obviously you would think your definition is the “reasonable” one. Until you find yourself having to engage in terro^H^H^H^H^H freedom fighting to achieve your own political goals.
I agree, what you describe is what terrorists think. Obviously, at some point in their life they persuade themselves that their political goals justify the intentional killing of innocent civilians. They go at great lengths with these justifications precisely because they are so obviously flawed. Attempts to justify their actions involve a mix of denying the Doctrine of Double Effects, speaking of necessary sacrifice…
It's exactly what you are doing right now. Denying the Doctrine of Double Effects.
Attempting to justify your definition. Portraying freedom fighters as terrorists. Ultimately insisting that your perspective/definition is the 'correct' one.
You've gone to great lengths with these justifications perhaps because they are so obviously flawed?
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#55My favorite/worst example of language evolution is the word factoid. Factoid literally meant a thing resembling a fact (i.e. a false fact) which is believed to be true after being repeated in print. Now, those same writers who where presumably spreading factoids, have inverted its meaning to be 'a minor, but true fact' [0]. [0] http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_factoids.html
Would a more correct version of a minor, true fact be a _factino_? Kind of like a Plutino or Neutrino?
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#56My favorite/worst example of language evolution is the word factoid. Factoid literally meant a thing resembling a fact (i.e. a false fact) which is believed to be true after being repeated in print. Now, those same writers who where presumably spreading factoids, have inverted its meaning to be 'a minor, but true fact' [0]. [0] http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_factoids.html
Sort of an odd use of the “oid” suffix which means “like” or “resembling”. “Like a fact, but not”.
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#57As the article points out, irregardless is pretty uncommon. I'll be much more horrified when Merriam-Webster begins defining terrorism the way that the Americans often use it in common discourse, i.e. , the attacker's acts were terrifying and the victims and community were terrorised, therefore he's a terrorist.
I’m also concerned MW already considers “homosexuality” offensive since a couple of months ago. It looks like MW starts supporting lefts redefinition of the language rather than providing a reference of the established language.
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Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#58The popularity of the word “irregardless” demonstrates a property of human thought and socialization that’s very important to most people here: that the majority of people (at least those that speak English) are perfectly happy copying other people’s behavior without asking why. More complex examples of this come from studies where people struggle to communicate the difference between Boolean operators (specifically OR and XOR.)
My point is that this is a reminder of why we have software engineers and why cheap contractors, AI, and easier to use tooling (such as “graphical programming languages) haven’t been able to replace them: people think and speak too imprecisely to communicate even just software specifications correctly let alone implement them.
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#59The author seems to claim that `irregardless' is all right and that caring about it is caring too much and vain. He compares it to other malformed words such as `television' and `flammable'. But there seems to be a significant difference between these and that. While recognizing the malformedness of these words require knowledge of Greek and Latin, recognizing that of `irregardless' is trivial for anyone who is profi…
But that is exactly how language evolves. People say stupid shit often enough and it eventually stops sounding stupid. See also: ain't, firstly, cisgender, etc.
Re: “Irregardless” is part of a penumbra of unorthodox English words
#60The author seems to claim that `irregardless' is all right and that caring about it is caring too much and vain. He compares it to other malformed words such as `television' and `flammable'. But there seems to be a significant difference between these and that. While recognizing the malformedness of these words require knowledge of Greek and Latin, recognizing that of `irregardless' is trivial for anyone who is profi…
Pure conjecture on my part: irregardless is an intensifier of dismissal. It allows the word to start with a vowel. Since (American) English requires exhortations to start with a consonant, it forces the speaker to begin the sound with a glottal stop. Initial glottal stops are markers for interjective cursing, like “‘Asshole!”