[Vocabulary] Change in English

[psrivas1]

Can English change suddenly. For example. Suddenly English might change suddenly One day so that the words might start meaning opposite of what they mean today. So left might start meaning what right means today. Please help me with this.

 

[jutfrank]

What makes you ask this bizarre question, psrivas1?

 

[probus]

Suddenly is too strong a word, but languages sometimes change rapidly. A good example in English is provided by the word gender. When I was a lad gender was a property of words only. It was never applied to people. When it was first applied to people I felt it was merely a euphemism used by those who were uncomfortable with the word sex. But it rapidly evolved into the meaning it has today.

 

[TheParser]

Please help me with this.

NOT A TEACHER

1. Yes, you are right. Sometimes a word changes its meaning. But it is not sudden. It might take a long time.

2. If someone tells you that you are very nice, you would consider that a compliment. But hundreds of years ago, the word "nice" meant something like "stupid."

a. When you have time, please google these words click here for an article that will explain the change: The Not-So-Nice Origins Nov. 25, 2015

 

[Tdol]

Change can be rapid- check out the great vowel shift. Also, technology has created thousands and thousands of new words. I graduated from university without using a computer - I played on one for an hour . This is an unimaginable world to people who have grown up with IT as a part of their life, and hard for me to actually remember. Words can become auto-antonyms- bad can mean good. Twenty years ago, people were arguing that email should be uncountable like mail, I don't hear anyone arguing that I sent ten emails is wrong today. Language changes and adapts because we change and adapt and need to communicate. English can, like any living language, change suddenly.

 

[5jj]

Living out of the English-speaking world for twenty-three years now, I am very aware of this. Despite a healthy diet of English newspapers, radio, films, TV and books, daily participation in this forum, regular chats with family and friends, and an average of at least a month a year on the UK (until Covid), I have become increasingly aware of how out of touch I am with the natural, normal spoken English of today. I steer clear of questions here about the acceptability of some words and phrases lest* my response might seem hopelessly out of date.

* I wonder how many native speakers use that word naturally these days.

 

[probus]

Personally I am very fond of lest but I think AmE tends to strongly prefer constructions using unless.

 

[Tdol]

You will not beat Lest we forget.

 

[probus]

True. It's the sort of thing we chisel into granite.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Can English change suddenly? For example, [STRIKE]Suddenly[/STRIKE] English might change [STRIKE]suddenly[/STRIKE] someday so that the words might start meaning the opposite of what they mean today. So left might start meaning what right means today. Please help me with this.

Welcome, Psrivas!

As you can see from the answers above, it depends on what you mean by "suddenly."

Yes, words can sometimes flip meanings. For instance, read this article about "amusing, awful, and artificial": Saint Paul's Cathedral

But more often, words simply shift a little bit over decades. Words whose meanings have changed slightly since I was a kid include awesome, loan, they, and home.

But you asked for help. Exactly what do you need help with?

 

[psrivas1]

Thanks for your reply. With help I meant to know if someday words might start meaning the opposite of what they mean today. From your reply it looks like that it will not happen anytime. Can you please confirm on this.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks for your reply. [STRIKE]With help[/STRIKE] I [STRIKE]meant[/STRIKE] want to know if, someday, words might start meaning the opposite of what they mean today. From your reply, it looks like [strike]that[/strike] it will not happen. [STRIKE]anytime.[/STRIKE] Can you please confirm [STRIKE]on[/STRIKE] this?

I think it's highly unlikely that that will happen. Does it happen (or has it happened) in your native language?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It was strange and interesting to see how our last US president sometimes used words to mean their opposites. It seemed as though he was doing it on purpose.

 

[probus]

It was strange and interesting to see how our last US president sometimes used words to mean their opposites. It seemed as though he was doing it on purpose.

Strange and interesting? I guess so. Watching a train wreck in slow-mo would be strange and interesting too. ;-)

 

[SoothingDave]

It was strange and interesting to see how our last US president sometimes used words to mean their opposites. It seemed as though he was doing it on purpose.

Yes, it was just that one last guy who abused the language. All politicians before him were straight and above board in their use of language. It's not like they ever questioned what the meaning of "is" is.

 

[Tdol]

Thanks for your reply. With help I meant to know if someday words might start meaning the opposite of what they mean today. From your reply it looks like that it will not happen anytime. Can you please confirm on this.

Some do. We have autoantonyms, They're not particularly common as things would get confusing if we had a lot.

 

[jutfrank]

From your reply it looks like that it will not happen anytime. Can you please confirm on this.

You've misunderstood. We're saying that it can and does happen.

We have autoantonyms

I've always known those as 'contranyms'.

 

[Tdol]

They're also antogonyms, which I rather like. It sounds more like Mortal Combat- which cleave will be left standing?

 

[Rover_KE]

Among words which have changed in meaning or acquired an additional meaning (though not opposite meanings) during my lifetime, the most notable has to be 'gay'.

Among more recent examples, there's 'tweet', 'woke', and 'smart' (applied to phones, TVs and motorways) and 'husband' and 'wife' are now applied to people of any gender.

It's hard to keep up sometimes.

 

[probus]

The meaning of gender too has changed during our lifetimes.