For years I've been complaining about the abuse of the word 'literally'; people using it to mean its opposite. But then I noticed this quote in today's New York Times and I reached a personal tipping point. I'm no longer bothered by it. Because I think it's started on an irrevocable journey to meaning something else. People aren't using it incorrectly. They're using it differently.
I know this kind of argument is as old as the hills and the pedants will always fight with the ' there is no correct usage' people but this is my personal moment on this word. Just so you know.
Never give up. Never surrender. 'Literally' means something. The word 'figuratively' is a perfectly good world available to all at no cost.
Posted by: Stig | November 04, 2006 at 11:46 PM
in linguistic research they're called pendulum words - very interesting phenomenon, words 'literally' beginning to mean the opposite of the original meaning.
I used to be very conservative and overzealous about defending old words. But now I tend to think it's not just ok, it's quite a good thing. If you're good with words, it's an opportunity to be creative, since old clichés are broken - you need to come up with new words that achieve the same effect.
"Table legs" was once a very vivid and original metaphor - "oh, I see, so you're comparing those things with an animal's legs, how funny." An evolving language just means more fertile land for our mind to plow.
Posted by: Nicholai | November 05, 2006 at 12:30 AM
for me there's no right or wrong in language.
there's just clear or not clear, fresh or not fresh.
i do draw the line at misplaced apostrophes though...
Posted by: Scamp | November 06, 2006 at 11:11 AM
I think you should still be bothered. The big problem for me is that if this guy had said it face to face you'd have raised an eyebrow and said, "literally?". He'd have then waved his arms and exclaimed, "Yeah! Literally!". Which would have been incredibly annoying.
In print it's not so bad. But it's still wrong.
Posted by: Ben | November 06, 2006 at 12:53 PM
They are very strong, these people. A house is quite a hevy thing. The German langauge calls the kind of words "Inhaltsfeindlich" which means that they are an enemy to content; or are/have become meaningless.
Posted by: Marcus Brown | November 06, 2006 at 03:53 PM
I am literally sick to death of the misuse of the word "literally." I'm glad you've been able to move on, though. :P
Posted by: Cam Beck | November 06, 2006 at 06:10 PM
Ed Smith of the Plaza Financial Group is not only misusing 'literally', he's also struggling with his verb tenses. He should have said, 'Have shaken it upside down' in order for the sentence to be consistent in tense. I wouldn't invest my money with a company whose CEO is so slack in his attention to detail.
Posted by: neil | November 06, 2006 at 10:12 PM
Ah Neil. You're always able to take pedantry to new heights. Bless you for that.
Posted by: russell | November 06, 2006 at 10:29 PM