Second definition of "literally" is inaccurate?
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Second definition of "literally" is inaccurate?
I know there was a lot of controversy a while back when the OED added the second, "informal" definition of the word "literally," but I think some of that controversy may have come from the fact that the definition doesn't actually match how people use the word, at least in my circles (I'm a 23-year-old American).
The definition currently reads "used for emphasis while not being literally true," and while that does describe some uses, I think it falls short of an actual definition. In my experience, the word is a neutral intensifier similar to "totally," with no implications regarding whether the statement in question is literal (definition 1.1) or figurative. In other words, it comes from definition 1.2 of "literal," not from an ironic reversal of the original meaning of "literally."
An example sentence:
Yesterday, a student literally told me that a dog ate her homework.
It is literally (definition 1) true that the student said that a dog ate her homework, but the teacher is not using the word to comment on whether the student's statement was literal or figurative. He is, instead, using it to emphasize the absurdity of the situation and to activate an emotional response.
Another example is Michael Cohen's tweet in response to Donald Trump's claim about being "the least anti-Semitic person you've ever seen in your life":
He literally said this to a guy wearing a yarmulke.
While Donald Trump did literally (definition 1) say it to a guy wearing a yarmulke, Cohen's use of the word is meant to show the intensity of the emotion and/or irony such a statement would hold for Trump's devoutly Jewish audience.
What are people's thoughts? Do you agree that the current definition is inadequate? Or am I missing a distinction that needs to be made?
Comments
I know there was a lot of controversy a while back when the OED added the second, "informal" definition of the word "literally," but I think some of that controversy may have come from the fact that the definition doesn't actually match how people use the word, at least in my circles (I'm a 23-year-old American).
The definition currently reads "used for emphasis while not being literally true," and while that does describe some uses, I think it falls short of an actual definition. In my experience, the word is a neutral intensifier similar to "totally," with no implications regarding whether the statement in question is literal (definition 1.1) or figurative. In other words, it comes from definition 1.2 of "literal," not from an ironic reversal of the original meaning of "literally."
An example sentence:
Yesterday, a student literally told me that a dog ate her homework.
It is literally (definition 1) true that the student said that a dog ate her homework, but the teacher is not using the word to comment on whether the student's statement was literal or figurative. He is, instead, using it to emphasize the absurdity of the situation and to activate an emotional response.
Another example is Michael Cohen's tweet in response to Donald Trump's claim about being "the least anti-Semitic person you've ever seen in your life":
He literally said this to a guy wearing a yarmulke.
While Donald Trump did literally (definition 1) say it to a guy wearing a yarmulke, Cohen's use of the word is meant to show the intensity of the emotion and/or irony such a statement would hold for Trump's devoutly Jewish audience.
What are people's thoughts? Do you agree that the current definition is inadequate? Or am I missing a distinction that needs to be made?
The actual OED definition is rather different
I think this is pretty adequately covers the 'new' (though not as new as people think) use of literally.
What's unusual in your examples, @Ludwa, is that literally is not part of the clause that make the hyperbolic claim. It's the reporting verb which is the the focus of amazement;
— in the first example amazement that somebody actually said it
— in the second example that Trump actually said it to that particular hearer
To put the 'new' definition in context, the preceding OED definitions are
and
followed by
The meaning in those examples is an extension of the meaning in first, core definition. "Literally" is being used to mean that something did literally happen but that it is also surprising/the speaker is not joking/being ironic. If you remove "literally" from them, the speakers' feelings of amazement are not apparent.
Neither of the two definitons currently in the Oxford Dictionaries site cover this meaning. You are right that that's the meaning in these contexts. Is it a widespead enough use to warrant a new definition? I'd say yes, but lexicohraphers may disagree.
Hello @Ludwa
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@MitchMacKaye, I don't think it's the word literally that expresses amazement. It's the act of hyperbole.
@MitchMacKaye I don't see hyperbole in these examples. Trump did say that answering a question from a guy wearing yarmulke:
w Trump's statement was hyperbolic, yes.
If you remove "literally": "He said this to a guy wearing a yarmulke." The feeling behind it isn't as clear.
@Ludwa Merriam-Webster has a definition that fits this use (see definition 1b):
I think M-W is generally a better dicitionary for inclusion of more senses. Consult M-W if you don't find a sense in the Oxford dictionary.
The hyperbole is the use of the word literally.
@DavidCrosbie
Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Nothing in the Trump example has been exaggerated. He literally did say it to a guy wearing a yarmulke.
The sentence
was not uttered by Trump.
Whoever said or wrote it was using the word literally in an exaggerated sense.
@DavidCrosbie How can it be exaggerated if it actually happened?
I think the point of "literally" here is to make it clear that there is no exaggeration.