@actuallyautistic As an #Autistic person who reflexively thinks literally, I don't think I'll ever stop being upset that the meaning of "literally" has been modified, but there's no alternative word to express the concept.
Multiple times daily, understanding people's meaning now has additional cognitive difficulty.
That's because, every single time, I will take the word "literally" literally and spend energy interpreting the literal meaning only to find it was not, in fact, literal at all.
@ScruffyDux@actuallyautistic This is it. Words change, I don't mind that. But losing a word, because it's specific meaning is now ambiguous? That sucks.
@fishidwardrobe@actuallyautistic Exactly! I now have a sense of anxiety when trying to convey the concept, and have to assume ambiguity that requires extra language to clarify.
It's additionally upsetting to me on account of how common an autistic trait literal thinking is. That's because communicating on the topic will be even harder if even the word literal is not typically meant literally.
Everything gets so muddy and that's distressing to me. Communication is already hard enough.
@ScruffyDux@actuallyautistic do you mean modified to mean literally as presented in the exact writing of non-fiction books, or literally as presented in the flavourful writing of fiction books?
I've been less upset about "literally" after discovering that its most common interpretation has bounced around a few times in its history.
@gringene@actuallyautistic I can understand that words change in meaning over time. That's fine, I'm not taking some kind of principled stance against that way language naturally evolves.
I'm expressing a personal negative experience that happens as a result of conflict between how my brain functions and how most other people's do.
It's a bit easier for me to not reflexively interpret literally, literally rather than as emphasis when it's pronounced "litally", which is a spreading phenomena.
@gringene@actuallyautistic It would also be easier if there were any suitably equivalent, widely know synonym for literally.
When I literally mean literally, I now have to use a less accurate and specific word such as "actually" and I feel distressed at not being able to convey the meaning I wish to convey.
@ScruffyDux I also have trouble with the non-literal use of literally...mostly because those using the word have usually got no concept of it's origins. @gringene@actuallyautistic
Add comment