March 19, 2009

Oh, dictionary! How could you?!



(Via Wonkette.)

11 comments:

ShadyCharacter said...

I don't see what the big deal is. Nobody made a fuss when they added "murder of an innocent human being by selfish sluts" to the definition of abortion last year.

Just kidding. No, the professor's right and Orwell was wrong. There's nothing creepy at all about advancing political goals through changing the very meaning of words...

Intrepid said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

Orwellian or not, there's something inherently funny about yelling at the dictionary.

***

I know, I know -- it's like when I go to museums and am horrified by what the signs in the exhibits say. Who's the bigger loser -- the people who inserted their political/cultural agenda into it, or me for wanting to yell at someone over it. (Well, them, of course. But it's not obvious to a neutral observer.)

Jason said...

Well, as soon as the first same-sex marriage was authorized by the courts, and the first same-sex marriage license was issued by a state or municipal entity within the U.S., what choice did the lexicographers have?

A secondary definition was born.

Stuff happens. Language evolves. Otherwise, the definition of "computer" would still be "one who computes."

MadisonMan said...

The Wake Up made me chuckle. Didn't realize I was sleeping at my desk.

Jason (the commenter) said...

Oh please, the Webster's dictionary is a word slut. They put w00t in there last year. "w" zero zero "t"

Anonymous said...

When are polygamists going to get their line?

rhhardin said...

Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.

Ben (The Tiger in Exile) said...

The polygamists already should have had theirs -- it's not like it's a new development...

traditionalguy said...

It's not fair for the polygamists to get new words all the time when the rest of us are stuck with one word for life.

Joe said...

A good example of confusion between descriptive linguistics and proscriptive linguistics. By their very nature, dictionaries are descriptive (the editors of American Heritage are very blunt about this, or at least used to be.)

The meanings of words change all the time and there isn't much anyone can do to stop it.