Dec 11, 2008
Just because literally means “literally” doesn’t mean it can’t be used figuratively.
Thousands of words are used differently than they’re defined. So why not literally?
The best English writers have done it for centuries.
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i know this is nerdy, but my comments always are – i was (literally?) JUST thinking about this today. i started hypothesizing about the pragmatics of ‘literally’ and i really want to tell somebody about it, but this isn’t my forum. :]
The misuse of the word “literally” is one of my ALL-TIME pet peeves! Not sure I see acceptance in my future.
The fact that you brought it up makes me gay.
I literally do not know what you are talking about ;)
Anita literaly just went there.
People usually mean “seriously” when they use this word, even when they talk about the way they interpret scripture.
Though they may not realize it!
Not taking something literally often means not taking it seriously!
GB
I recall a moment during the Presidential Primaries, when people were standing in line all day to vote back in February), that Hillary Clinton said, “People were literally freezing to death.”
I remember thinking, “My goodness, I hope not! Wouldn’t that be a P.R. disaster.”
Thankfully, Hillary had apparently learned what Abraham is teaching us already. Phew! That was a close one.
Great post. Great article.
But I’ll literally have to force myself to be one of those who stops being peeved by the secondary usage!
Word meaning is determined by usage. Period. That’s how languages evolve and how new languages develop.
I enjoyed perusing the article written by Jesse Sheidlower.
It was literally amusing and informative and some parts figuratively cracked me up.
I think everyone will enjoy this:
http://warehousecomic.com/comic_332.php
Then I wish a new word would develop that means what “literally” used to mean.
Are there no instances when it is right to redeem words from shifting usage? If any word should not shift, it’s ‘literally.’
That esteemed writers have used words to mean something contradictory to their original meaning does not justify the practice. Many figurative examples cited in the linked article are used in such a way that confusion in meaning is exceedingly unlikely.
The problem today is that ‘literally’ is being used in ways that are not clear and thus rendering the word useless or nearly useless. Language requires a way to communicate the concept of the more historical uses of the word and if “literally” becomes “figuratively,” we’ll need to replace it with a new word.
In my opinion, the is less about grammatical correctness or evolving language but rather the ability to communicate unambiguously.
My last paragraph should have read:
In my opinion, the issue is less about grammatical correctness or evolving language but rather the ability to communicate unambiguously.
Thousands of words are used differently than they’re defined. So why not ‘Randomly’?
http://twentytwowords.com/2008/10/17/eenie-meeny-miny%e2%80%94you-there%e2%80%94third-one-back/
Abraham, you are wrong, wrong, wrong on this one!
you can never communicate completely unambiguously. sorry to sound so postmodern, but it’s true.
human language is always less specific than say, computer programming languages, because humans have the ability to automatically and (usually) effortlessly fill in the blanks, and they assume that others will know how, too. sometimes,
of course, this breaks down – because humans are autonomous and not machines – but there are LOTS of words with multiple meanings and you almost always can tell which meaning is desired in context. your brain is amazing!
Many words have been rendered meaningless (or at least diminished) because of overuse or misuse. Awesome is another that comes to mind.
Hey, Dylan, a thought about this…
Language requires a way to communicate the concept of the more historical uses of the word and if “literally” becomes “figuratively,” we’ll need to replace it with a new word.
Yeah! That’s kind of exciting, actually!
It doesn’t only come to meaningless (or at least diminished) language (Susan’s dire phrase!). It means we get to be thoughtful and creative and careful and experimental. Lots of fun stuff.
Cheerfully,
KP
Jamsco,
You’re right in your first sentence. I was wrong on that post. That became clear in the comments if I remember correctly.
As far as being wrong, wrong, wrong about literally I’ll gladly stand with the authors quoted in the article I linked to.
“That became clear in the comments if I remember correctly.”
Looking back at the comments there I notice that they were the partial stimulus for you to write this one.
“As far as being wrong, wrong, wrong about literally I’ll gladly stand with the authors quoted in the article I linked to.”
Hmmm. I can’t help but note that he didn’t give actual quote from one of those guys.
“literally” doesn’t mean “woodenly”. I think we should say “literately” — meaning, as any decent reader of the language would interpret the passage in question.
You know: because we have to ask ourselves what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the bread of life,” among other things.
Is it clear that there is any kind of consensus as to how “literally” is being used currently? When I hear people say that word, they are usually using it in the classic sense. Anyway, if it is being used in both senses, perhaps we shouldn’t use the word at all, lest we be misunderstood by half our listeners/readers.
To those concerned with potential ambiguity, will you please give me an example of a realistic sentence in which the speaker could mean either definition of literally?
As far as I can tell, the figurative use is always obvious.
If you claim to be confused by such sentences as “We were literally freezing to death,” then you’re insulting yourself.
Since most examples of the literal use could actually be exaggerations meant to be figurative, it seems to me that there could be confusions with any literal use of the word, now that people use it in the figurative way as well.
“It literally pains me to hear how loudly kids play that rap music, these days!”
“As far as I can tell, the figurative use is always obvious.”
And if I say “we’re heading south for a trip to Duluth”, it is obvious that I meant ‘North’. That doesn’t make it not a mistake, or a wise thing to say.
I agree 100% on principal – though I try to avoid the usage in practice – simply because it’s not accepted usage amongst a certain group of people (who will invariably point out that you don’t mean “literal” literally).
It also makes for some pretty amusing imagery, if you take the use of “literal” literally.
I still remember Casey Kasem talking about a NKOTB song that “literally catapulted the group to the top”. Immediately I imagined Jordan, Joey, Jonathan, Donnie, and Danny hurling through the air . . . .
So I started reading ‘Stuff of Thought’ by Pinker this week and he mentions a club called A.W.F.U.L. (Americans Who Figuratively Use “Literally”) and includes the wonderful sentence, “The American press has literally emasculated President Nixon.”
[pg 239]
[...] only seven and she’s using the word ‘literally’ correctly! In a joke, [...]