Use and Abuse of the Word Literally - A Crisis of Language? | The ...

How the Term ‘Literally’ has Changed Over Time
It’s the infamous term that infuriates editors,
academics, linguists, publishers, and journalists alike, with people using it
when they actually mean ‘figuratively’ – the exact opposite.
Encouraged by widespread use in celebrity and pop culture, this innocent(ish) adverb exploded into a senseless filler word around 20-30 years ago and is now used liberally and without question by the young (and old, but especially the young), to give their sentences extra ‘oomph’. The problem is that the word has a specific and useful meaning, which is being diluted and devalued by its overuse in incorrect contexts.
It is truly a crisis of language.
At least, that’s what you’d think had happened by some of
the reactions to the word ‘literally’. There seems to be a ‘literal panic’
these days around the use of the word ‘literally’’. Linguistic prescriptivists
– who generally prefer to keep the existing rules of English – have penned
dozens of commentaries and articles on the subject to illustrate their rage.
The reality is, in fact, much less extreme.
Let’s (figuratively) dive into the history
of the word ‘literally’.
‘Literally’ – Language Evolution or Butchery? When did the Literal Panic Start?
The phenomenon of overusing ‘literally’ feels
like an issue from the 21st century, but the reality is that this is
not the case. ‘Literally’ is nothing new, unusual or harmful, and the current
panic about the loss of original meaning is somewhat misplaced.
Non-literal ‘literally’ has been used for centuries!
What’s more, not only is it not a new
thing, but the current controversial meaning – hyperbole and emphasis – developed
gradually and legitimately over time through genuine linguistic change
processes.
The History of the Term Literally
‘Literally’ has origins in borrowings from
French and Latin. The French word literal means ‘relating to letters or
literature’, and the Latin word litteralis describes ‘taking words in
their natural or customary meaning, without any ulterior spiritual or symbolic
meaning’.
The first borrowings of these words can be
dated back to the early 1400s. In around 1450, the first example of the words literal
and literally as we know them today (i.e. a word describing the
primary sense of a concept) appeared.
By 1670, another meaning for the word literally
had surfaced. OED described this as “to indicate that the related phrase or
word must be taken in its literal sense, usually to add emphasis.”
An example of this:
“What punishment has he suffered? Literally
none.”
This new meaning of literally, designed
to add emphasis, served as the precursor to today’s controversial, hyperbolic usage.
The process of the word gaining this new
meaning took place through a steady language change process: bridging contexts.
While it may seem illogical for a word to
evolve from having one exact meaning to then acquiring a second, opposite
meaning, it is an interesting process that took literally to also mean
‘figuratively’.
In the example above, where literally
was added to the word none to illustrate the lack of punishment, there
are two possible interpretations for the word literally: the original
(‘taken in a literal sense’) and the new meaning, where literally adds
emphasis.
Either interpretation would make sense in
its own right, and in fact, it’s even possible for the word literally to
serve both purposes – descriptive and emphatic – in this context. We
have no way of knowing in which sense the writer chose the word literally.
What is a Bridging Context?
The ambiguity behind this example makes it
a bridging context, or a term used in a way that signals multiple
possible interpretations. Readers interpreted the word in both original and
emphatic senses, ultimately validating the emphatic literally.
With continuous use of literally in
this ambiguous way, the meaning of the word gradually shifted further,
culminating in the following excerpt from a 1769 text:
“He is a fortunate man to be introduced to such a party of fine women at his arrival; it is literally to feed among the lilies”
In this sentence, there is no other
possible definition of literally except the hyperbolic.
While it is related to the emphatic literally,
it bears no resemblance to the original definition, ‘taken in a literal sense’.
This shows the full cycle of bridging
contexts, with literally on the ‘other side of the bridge’ in this
example, so to speak.
How Often Does Language Change Happen?
Language change is a continuous and gradual
process.
New words, phrases, and structures become trendy among language speakers, leading to increased popularity, widespread use, and then standardization through inclusion in the dictionary.
This change, and the inclusion of new terms in the dictionary, is nothing to be afraid of; it’s been happening since the beginning of time.
The late 20th and early 21st
centuries saw countless language changes: the Internet, computers, and globalization
have all provided catalysts for new word meanings.
The word spam is a perfect example
of language change: originally a portmanteau of ‘spiced ham’ to describe a
British processed meat product, its primary meaning now describes unwanted
digital communications.
So Why do We See Literally as so Negative?
Now we understand where the modern literally
came from, is it still correct that it receives such bad press?
Although it is now regarded as a contronym (a word with two opposite meanings), there are hundreds of other contronyms in the English language, which are nowhere near as controversial (custom, dust, model, etc).
Language prescriptivists (people who disapprove of semantic change) have the loudest voices when it comes to criticizing literally, but in reality, the figurative definition of the word has been listed in the OED since 1903.
Stanford linguist Arnold Zwicky suggests
that we criticize the word literally so harshly because of the recency
illusion: a phenomenon where we believe that something is recent because we
ourselves only recently discovered it. When we know that ‘literally’ annoys us,
we’re more likely to notice it.
This is related to confirmation bias, and
for those who are irked by literally’s explosion in popularity, it will
be easy to find endless examples of its (mis)use to support their anger.
Language change is inevitable. New words
and meanings evolve while old ones fall into obscurity and obsolescence. There
is always a resistance to change from prescriptivists, but the vendetta against
literally is unusual because it is not a new phenomenon.
At some point in the early 20th
century, the alternative definition for literally was no longer a
misuse, but finally achieved the status of a new definition.
What is more, although it annoys some people, everyone understands the hyperbolic meaning of literally. If the purpose of language is to be able to communicate, then surely the new meaning fulfills the purpose perfectly?
Language is constantly evolving, and it is exactly this element of change that makes it so interesting.
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Siobhan Wood is a writer, proofreader, and marketing specialist who works with language schools. She founded her business, Siobhan Wood Communications, to use content marketing to inspire people to learn and enjoy languages as she has. With a degree in French and Spanish, she lived in three countries before settling in Leeds, UK, and enjoying a ten-year career in international business. More posts by Siobhan >>
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