Friday, April 8, 2011

Article tracing changes in words' definitions

I ran across this article on Slate, which discusses how words like "disinterested" and "nonplussed" have common usages that differ from their original definitions. ("Disinterested" means impartial, even though people frequently use it to mean uninterested.) I thought it might be useful for talking about constructs in ENC1101, especially paired with Joseph Williams' article on error. Just as Williams concludes that error is a matter of perception, so does this article conclude that "when it comes to language, there is no right or wrong in a metaphysical sense, only a consensus that holds for a particular period of time."

No comments:

Post a Comment