From: Paul T. <pau...@gm...> - 2011-10-17 22:55:58
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On 10/17/11 6:45 PM, Ben Finney wrote: > Paul Tremblay<pau...@gm...> writes: > >> But of course, you are avoiding the issue: language takes its meaning >> on how it is used, not on some arbitrary definition. Everyone knows >> what CSV means. > Everyone knows what “I could care less” means. That doesn't make it any > less an offense to language, and it doesn't argue for letting it go. > I don't know if that phrase is an offense, but it is different from the phrase "CSV," or "band aid." (Do you really get offended when someone asks for a band aid?) What does "hound?" mean? Why don't we say "wif" for wive, as the people did in Britain over a thousand years. Language changes, mainly because of the way people use it. As far as offense goes, Swift once though that using contractions was an offense, and many people thought *Huck Finn* an offense too. Often "offense" concerning language has nothing to do with good language usage. Paul |