Language is always changing. At one point ‘an apron’ was ‘a napron’ while words like ‘literally’ are no longer literally literal. What are some language battles that have been lost in living memory and what are some others you predict will soon occur?

Edit: Non-english examples very welcome!

  • nore {she/her}@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    46 minutes ago

    I don’t know if this fits the question, but in Brazil the “Portuguese-Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990” only started to take effect in 2009 (after I was born), in a transition state, and in 2015 it became official and obligatory.

    The changes that I still fumble with are diacritics (e.g. “Idéia” -> “Ideia”) and hyphens (e.g. “contra-regra” -> “contrarregra”).

  • Fleppensteyn@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    1 hour ago

    Pronouns getting weird, especially when and is added, like “for him and I” or “her and I’s house”.

    Also excetera for etcetera and mischievious for mischievous

  • ghost_laptop@lemmy.ml
    1·
    2 hours ago

    i’ve never learnt to use tildes in spanish lol i mean i know some rules for that but i just never cared, most people dont use them while texting unless the corrector adds it.

  • KaChilde@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    5 hours ago

    “Casted”

    The past-tense of cast is cast. “The fisherman cast their line into the river.” “The actor was cast in the leading role.”

    Casted makes you sound like a child.

    • Dagobah@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 hours ago

      I think any word sounds more childish with ed on the end! “I wented fishinged at the beached and casteded”

  • RavuAlHemio@lemmy.world
    3·
    6 hours ago

    From my perspective, literally being used for emphasis does not actually change its meaning, it’s simply hyperbole.

    If you complain that you’ve been “waiting for hours”, even though it’s been 45 minutes, that doesn’t change the meaning of “hours”, you’re just exaggerating.

    Hyperbole is a stylistic element; style is a completely different level of language than grammar/spelling/semantics (word meanings). As another example of style, ending a sentence with a preposition is grammatically correct but stylistically not recommended.

  • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
    14·
    11 hours ago

    We were always supposed to put punctuation inside quotation marks; however, now it seems to be the user’s choice of inside or outside. And I have to admit that most of the time when I’m using quotes, it seems more logical to me to place the punctuation outside of them.

  • Luke@lemmy.mlEnglish
    9·
    11 hours ago

    I suppose the word “boomer” has changed meaning very quickly. It rarely gets used anymore to refer to actual boomers (people born just after WW2) and instead now can refer either vaguely to anyone older than 30, or anyone with an antiquated/problematic notion of social norms.

      • Jentu@lemmy.mlEnglish
        3·
        9 hours ago

        Our browser is going to fingerprint us through this habit and we’re going to get served knee replacement ads because of it.

  • LeftReddit2@lemmy.world
    11·
    13 hours ago

    Loose and lose might as well be the same word these days. Drives me up a damn wall.

    That and “POV” doesn’t mean what it used to mean anymore. Also drives me up a wall.

  • insufferableninja@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    91·
    12 hours ago

    Presently used to mean “soon” or “in a bit” but now means “happening right now”

    The meaning of bemused is similar to “befuddled”, but it’s more often used as if it means “amused”

    It used to be a firm rule that you mustn’t end a sentence in a proposition.