Category: Definitions Changing

Dinosaurs are Running Free and Most are in DC

Members of the House of Representatives

Just when we thought dinosaurs are extinct, we find that to be false. Theories point to the weather being too hot or too cold, or the sea level dropped, or a large asteroid was the cause of their demise some 65 million years ago. However, we are now aware that dinosaurs are alive, running free, and most of them are in DC.

There is a considerable chance you already guessed that I’m referring to the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. However, you may not agree with my correlation. I’ll walk you through my thought process.

Dinosaurs Aren’t Just Large Reptiles

Ordinarily, the word dinosaur immediately prompts images of large reptiles like Tyrannosaurs, Sauropods, Triceratops, Raptors, etc. The definition of dinosaur is more than that.

There are two definitions of the word dinosaur, the second being; “something that is unwieldy in size, anachronistically outmoded, or unable to adapt to change.” That’s a mouthful so it requires a breakdown in order to fully understand what it states.

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2019 WOTY and Neologism

What?

The Word of the Year for 2019 is “existential,” or “climate emergency,” “climate strike,” or my personal favorite, “they;” depending on where you search. Each year a group of linguists from different organizations; i.e. Merriam-Webster, Oxford Languages, Collins Dictionary, dictionary.com, and the American Dialect Society, among others, pick their word of the year. Sometimes abbreviated WOTY, the word of the year is a singular word or expression that is significant to the public. Linguists also look at the usage of current words, which is called neologism. 

Linguists study the science and utilization of language. Their attention is on public practice of the term or expression and how it interfaces with the real-world. To become the Word of the Year, linguists consider the most searched words, the ones that have a significant spike from the previous year, and do they have lasting potential.

Merriam-Webster‘s WOTY

The 2019 Word of the Year for Merriam Webster is they, having a 313% spike in searches over the previous year. Moreover, there is a shift in the way they is used, which lured people to their dictionaries to hunt for the current definition. The first definition states, “those people, animals, or things.” The second meaning is, “used to refer to people in a general way or to a group of people who are not specified.”

As stated by Merriam-Webster, “English famously lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with singular pronouns like everyone or someone, and as a consequence, they has been used for this purpose for over 600 years.” Preferred in professional writing, now in the place of the word “he or she,” use the singular pronoun “them or they,”

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Manipulating Language

When people talk with each other today it’s common not to say what we mean. That’s not such an unheard of idea.

Honey, do these jeans make me look fat?
No.
[It’s your butt that makes your jeans look fat but I can’t say that.]

Would you like to go out again?
Yes.
[He never heard from her again.]

He’s a really great worker.
[I’m glad he’s out of my department. He wasn’t a good employee.]

It’s easier to say what we think someone wants to hear instead of saying what we actually mean. We hope to avoid hurting another person or the confrontation that might ensue. We answer by the painless way out. We want to get our way so we gloss over the truth. These are common practices in our communication and it’s considered acceptable. It’s delivering a message by using words that hide our true thoughts.

That is one way to use language to our benefit. Another way is by changing definitions of words in order to con others. People use the new definitions to deceive you and you don’t know it. It has been happening for years yet most people aren’t aware of it.

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They Think You Are Saying Something Else

Ever wonder why the person you are talking to didn’t understand what you said? It’s because they think you are saying something else. Since Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, the definitions of words have changed. We expect that to happen as we invent new things, as slang words are created, and to keep up with the times. Consequently, new words are needed to name them.

Adding words for these reasons is understandable. Changing definitions of words is difficult to grasp. In Webster’s first dictionary the word “definition” is described as “a brief description of a thing by its properties; the explication of the essence of a thing by its kind and difference.” The definition represents the core of what a word is. To create his dictionary, Webster looked at 26 dictionaries in different languages to determine the origin of each word. His goal was to capture the essence of the word.

Truth, Reality, and Lie

Yet definitions are changing from what we thought a word meant. “Truth” went from an “indisputable fact” to an “accepted fact.” What was once the real state of things is now whatever people will allow. “Reality” used to mean “fact” and now means “a resemblance to being real.” No longer does it mean what actually happened. Reality is what anyone wants it to be. The word “Lie” means “to make an untrue statement.” If what is true is what we allow and what happened is somewhat similar to what actually happened, isn’t that a lie? [I use the word lie since the words fake and phony aren’t in Webster’s dictionary.] Continue reading “They Think You Are Saying Something Else”

The Demise of Truth

It’s interesting to see how the word truth has changed and fascinating to see that no one noticed. We would all say that we know what truth is. But the definition has been modified and it has a huge impact on our lives. The change, done ever so covertly, has us associating truth with our original definition, not knowing that it really means something else. This was done in an effort to maneuver the way people think and how people act.

Truth, The Original

There are similarities between Webster’s definition and the one we have today. Both state that truth is the “real state of things, exactness, and a verified or indisputable fact.” The definition lets us know that truth is constant; it doesn’t change by situation or opinion. Truth is what is and nothing else.

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Know Before You Speak

Since the definitions of words are changing do you know what you are really saying?

Here’s the Problem

If people were deceiving you right to your face would you want to know? That’s not such an unheard of idea. When people talk with each other today it’s common not to say what we mean.

Honey, do these jeans make me look fat?
No.
[It’s your butt that makes your jeans look fat but I can’t say that.]

Would you like to go out again?
Yes.
[He never heard from her again.]

He’s a really great worker.
[I’m glad he’s out of my department. He wasn’t a good employee.]

It’s easier to say what we think someone wants to hear instead of saying what we think. We want to avoid hurting another person or the confrontation that might ensue. We want to get our way so we gloss over the truth. Taking the painless way out is just easier. In our communication  theses practices are common and it’s considered acceptable. It’s delivering a message by using words that hide our true thoughts.

Continue reading “Here’s the Problem”

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