Paul Sempschi says:
“Begs the question†is a logical phallacy whereby someone has created an argument based on his thesis (Eg. God has created the universe because the universe was created by God). “Begs the question†is not to cause one to ask further question. Sorry but it really, really bugs me when people abuse this phrase.
And look, he is entirely correct!
But the question now begging to be asked (note cunning side-step) is can ‘legislation’ fix the meaning of a word or phrase, or it does meaning evolve to follow what most users are trying to express when they use a word or phrase? All evidence suggests the second option, even if that results in the meaning starting to contradict the previous one. Sorry, but it really bugs me when people get prescriptive about language, because for me language change is a dependable mark of living language.
See for color pics of this venue: http://www.b-s-l.org/BSL2/FZ_Gallerie.html
“Sorry, but it really bugs me when people get prescriptive about language, because for me language change is a dependable mark of living language.”
“While [some] are content to allow the misconception to fall into the vernacular, it cannot be denied that logic and philosophy stand to lose an important conceptual label should the meaning of BTQ become diluted to the point that we must constantly distinguish between the traditional usage and the erroneous “modern” usage. ”
Tho’ I respect your position on the dynamics of a ‘living language’, Mr. Stone, and heartily agree with your point in many instances (especially where individual words are concerned), I guess the education for which I paid dearly prompts me to rail against this particular case.
But then, ‘you get nothing with your college degree’, right?
Boring old farts!
Ladies & Gentlemen,
The DYNAMIC xorg…