Job Discussion Forums

[BobbyBan]

Has this word changed its meaning to being another way of saying "not literally" and is now acceptable in sentences such as "I was literally pulling my hair out", "My apartment is literally the size of a shoebox", "The company literally pays peanuts" (but pays them to do what?) and "She's literally an ogre/dragon/cow".

What do you do if your co-worker enjoys misusing the word "literally" literally all the time and is literally forcefeeding students this usage and the word has literally become like the sound of nails on a blackboard?

You can change my name to Snobbyban if you like.

[arioch36]

I don't think that the meaning is "not literally". The meaning is an emphasis on how strongly you feel something. But I'm guessing you knew that.
yes, co-workers can be annoying. You must deal with it within your personality. I personally would ask the person why? Some teachers overuse one idea or word because they literally wouldn't know what to do elsewise

[ecocks]

If someone told me they were "literally" pulling their hair out I would make a show of looking for the bald spots. So, like no, literally hasn't changed meaning like, you know what I mean?

[Tim Trowbridge]

Please see this article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2129105/

[johnslat]

Dear Tim,

A very interesting and well-considered article, I'd say. This thread reminds me of what Humpty Dumpty said to Alice:

`And only one for birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!'

`I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"'

`But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected.

`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'

`The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.'

`The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master -- that's all.'

Regards,
John

[arioch36]

Good article

Now, an article to deal with a coworker who is literally driving you crazy, which I case is the case

[BobbyBan]

[johnslat]

Dear BobbyBan,

Did you mean:

"It doesn't only bother me though."

or

"It doesn't bother only me though."

One of my pet peeves is the common misplacement of the adjective/adverb "only."

Ah, if only I could stop caring about that.

Regards,
John

[Stephen Jones]

'Literally' has long served the purpose of giving additional emphasis or even had the meaning of 'virtually'. This second meaning is mentioned in both the SOED and Merriam-Webster.

Why, Bobbyban, are those who permanently complain about misuse of words apparently incapable of using a dictionary?

[ecocks]

the literal meaning of "literal" and there is little any individual can do to prevent it. However, neither the literary license often cited in the usage notes nor the accepted slang usage appears to have made much of an in-road into the generally accepted dictionaries. Out of curiousity, I checked several and my favorite comment was this one:

"It is often used to give more force to an expression, but many teachers feel this is incorrect." -- from Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture

Obviously, I am one of those teachers referred to.

[BobbyBan]

[wildchild]

I heard Pinker on the radio the other day talking about this very subject, saying that it had something to do with metaphors, dead and alive. When folks misuse "literally" it's because the metaphor has become dead, or so common, accepted, a part of the language that folks fail to analyze it as a metaphor, after all, language is full of them (there's another one, how can language be "full").

[soapdodger]

Personally I'm past caring how the language is being ravaged as long as I neither do it myself or pass bad habits to students. It won't be long before the dream of Dr. Doolittle will come true as everyone grunts and squeaks in a way even animals will understand, then what a happy planet it will be, I'm sure.

[johnslat]

I tend to agree - but I suppose we're fortunate in that the posting didn't consist of "grunts and squeaks."
And I have to admit that the ravaging of the language still excites my ire, especially when it's done by politicians and hucksters (or is that a redundancy?)

[gaijinalways]

Soapdodger, besides avoiding soap, you're smelling fine . All of us do our best to not teach bad linguistic habits.

Now as to annoying coworkers, well, that depends on my objective for the day.