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Talk:Devolution of language (view source)
Revision as of 04:21, December 27, 2008
, 04:21, December 27, 2008no edit summary
These are all examples of how languages change, but how do they show deterioration? [[User:Eoinc|Eoinc]] 22:52, 26 December 2008 (EST)
These are all examples of how languages change, but how do they show deterioration? [[User:Eoinc|Eoinc]] 22:52, 26 December 2008 (EST)
I should probably be more specific:
I should probably be more specific:
'''Message''': If this has come to mean a brief, insubstantial piece of communication, so what? This doesn't mean that the art of communication itself has died out. There are plenty of other words that we could still use to denote a more weighty and important communication.
'''Message''': If this has come to mean a brief, insubstantial piece of communication, so what? This doesn't mean that the art of communication itself has died out. There are plenty of other words that we could still use to denote a more weighty and important communication.
'''Link''': If this now refers exclusively to the internet (which I doubt), there are other words we could use for more significant connections.
'''Link''': If this now refers exclusively to the internet (which I doubt), there are other words we could use for more significant connections.
'''Media''': "The Press" implies a printing press, which implies newspapers. The media today encompass newspapers, television, radio, and the internet. We need a word which can encompass all of these. What's so wrong with that? [[User:Eoinc|Eoinc]] 23:05, 26 December 2008 (EST)
'''Media''': "The Press" implies a printing press, which implies newspapers. The media today encompass newspapers, television, radio, and the internet. We need a word which can encompass all of these. What's so wrong with that? [[User:Eoinc|Eoinc]] 23:05, 26 December 2008 (EST)
:It's perfectly clear. Vocabularies have shrunk, the meanings of words have contracted. Now, I recommend you make substantial contributions rather than talk, talk, talking. Spouting gibberish about printing presses shows how keen you are to avoid accurate information. Does the White House Press Secretary only deal with newspapers? [[User:RodWeathers|- Rod Weathers]] 23:07, 26 December 2008 (EST)
::Now, hold on a moment. Talking can be a worthwhile contribution if it helps to refine an article. I'm within 90/10. Meanings of words change over time, everyone knows that, but new words are coined on a regular basis to fill the niches left in the language. The word "silly" has at various times meant "happy", "innocent", "holy", and "foolish". When a word which means ''X'' changes to mean ''Y'', but the concept of ''X'' still remains in the language, a new word gets coined (or an old one gets adapted) to mean ''X'''. My "spouting gibberish about printing presses" is not an avoidance of accurate information; I'm trying to show how it is understandable why that particular word might change its meaning. [[User:Eoinc|Eoinc]] 23:21, 26 December 2008 (EST)