Or a letter from my college saying that my club has been “sanctioned”.
Comment on "Literally" literally does not mean "similar to in some way".
SaltSong@startrek.website 1 month agoRight, that’s “speaking figuratively.” There are rules for that.
But a word that means the opposite of what it means is not a useful word.
I’d hate to find a box in my lab marked “inflammable.”
Bob_Robertson_IX@discuss.tchncs.de 1 month ago
SaltSong@startrek.website 5 weeks ago
Yea. Not helpful.
voracitude@lemmy.world 5 weeks ago
Context is as important to language as syntax. If you see a box marked “inflammable” and the box is made of cardboard, you know it’s quite inflammable. If it’s made of metal, most people would think it’s inflammable, but if you’re in a lab you’ve probably got a few ways to prove them wrong.
SaltSong@startrek.website 5 weeks ago
Context is as important to language as syntax.
Context is important to the message, yes. But if I need the context to understand a particular word, I would understand the message just as well without that word.
my_hat_stinks@programming.dev 1 month ago
Plenty of words mean the opposite of themselves, so much so that there’s multiple words for it; autoantonym, contranym, or Janus words.
This morning my alarm went off so I turned it off.
I wanted to buy a new console as soon as it was out but they were all out.
Two people were left so I left.
I fought with Bob over chores, but I fought with Bob in the war.
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 1 month ago
That’s actually pretty cool.
SaltSong@startrek.website 5 weeks ago
I’m aware of the existence of contranyms. None of the examples you gave apply, as they just have different meanings, or the same leaving with different connotations.