2020-10-31 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด L - literally
2020-10-31
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด L - literally
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Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง literally = ‘LIT-er-uh-lee’
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
literally
in a literal manner; word for word: literally translated; actually;
without exaggeration or inaccuracy: The platoon was literally wiped out in the explosion.
Not to be confused with:
actually – an actual or existing fact; really; genuinely, without exaggeration:
The deceased was actually frightened to death.
virtually – for the most part; almost completely; just about:
He was virtually scared out of his wits.
[Literally, like virtually, is widely used as an intensifier
meaning “in effect,” which contradicts the earlier meaning
of “actually, without exaggeration.”
Virtually is often used to mean “actually”
when its definition is “for practical purposes though not in name.”]
Dictionary.com
HISTORICAL USAGE OF LITERALLY
The adverb literally was formed in English by adding the adverbial suffix -ly to literal,
an adjective borrowed from Late Latin litterālis “of or relating to letters or literature.”
(When we say “the letter of the law,” we are referring to its literal, or most obvious, meaning that follows the actual wording of the law.)
But it is of no use to complain that literally
properly means “actually; without exaggeration,”
the exact opposite of figuratively.
That battle is almost lost; popular usage has nearly won,
so that literally may also be used to mean “in effect; very nearly; virtually.”
In fact, this meaning is now quite common,
with literally being used to intensify a metaphorical expression,
as in “He literally died when he found out the truth.”
Another usage battle was lost well over two thousand years ago, when Cicero, the Roman Republic’s greatest orator and man of letters, in his dialogue Brutus, yielded his own older “correct” pronunciation of certain words to the more recent popular “incorrect” usage, changing his own pulcer “beautiful” to pulcher, triumpus “triumph” to triumphus, and Cartāgo “Carthage” to Carthāgo.
(Notice that it is the “vulgar” spellings that are current in English pulchritude, triumph, and Carthage ).
In each of the spelling changes,
“c” to “ch,” “p” to “ph,” and “t” to “th,” the “h” represents aspiration of the consonant
(voiceless stops in these cases).
Aspirated voiceless stops were a feature of the pronunciation of the uneducated populace
who aspired to but overshot the pronunciation of educated speakers.
Dictionary.com
USAGE NOTE FOR LITERALLY
Since the early 19th century,
literally has been widely used as an intensifiermeaning “in effect, virtually,”
a sense that contradicts the earlier meaning “actually, without exaggeration”:
The senator was literally buried alive in the Iowa primaries.
The parties were literally trading horses in an effort to reach a compromise.
The use is often criticized; nevertheless, it appears in all but the most carefully edited writing. Although this use of literally irritates some, it probably neither distorts nor enhances the intended meaning of the sentences in which it occurs.
The same might often be said of the use of literally in its earlier sense “actually”:
The garrison was literally wiped out: no one survived.
Dictionary.com
“Figuratively” vs. “Literally”
Although similar and often incorrectly swapped for each other,
literally and figuratively have different meanings that can’t really be interchanged.
So even if you feel like you literally can’t help confusing the two,
this exaggeration may help explain why figuratively is actually the right word in many cases.
What does figuratively mean?
Figuratively is an adverb of the adjective figurative
that means “of the nature of or involving a figure of speech.”
It’s typically metaphorical and not literal,
which is a key difference in common usage between figuratively and literally.
Except for one little annoying part of figurative:
it can also mean “represented by a figure, drawing, sculpture, or emblem,”
so figuratively has a literal meaning as well. Moving on from that …
Originating in 1350–1400, this Middle English word derives from the Late Latin figūrātīvus and replaced Middle English figuratif.
It’s important to remember that
a figurative description is differentthan a literal meaning
that describes exactly what is happening in black-and-white terms.
So while you may be so happy that you want to figuratively shout from the rooftop,
you would only use literally if you were actually standing on the roof and screaming with joy.
What does literally mean?
Although figuratively has room for interpretation or exaggeration,
literally is exact and concrete in its meaning.
The adverb is defined as “in the literal or strict sense”
and “actually; without exaggeration or inaccuracy.”
Whatever word or phrase the word literally modifies
is being described in a literal manner; word for word.
For example: Although you may not literally know everything there is to know about sports, you can probably tell us literally everything that happened during the last play.
If you’re describing what actually happened, without exaggeration or inaccuracy, then literally is the right choice.
For example, I spent literally every cent I had on that gift works if you actually did empty out every penny you had to your name.
Literally was first recorded around 1525 but its usage began to change in the 19th century. Starting from this time, literally began to be used as an intensifier for effect, which contradicts its meaning of “without exaggeration.” This shift has normalized its misuse, and that’s become a major pet peeve for many who are aware of the difference.
How to use each word
Since words and phrases typically have both literal and figurative meanings,
it’s easy to know when to use each of these terms,
once you understand the difference between the two.
You can literally open a package as soon as it arrives
but you can only figuratively open your heart to love.
You can also only figuratively tell the whole world how you feel
but, instead, you can literally tell every person whom you come in contact with about your feelings.
Feel like you’re so frustrated that you’re literally going to explode? Wrong!
You may feel like you’re figuratively going to erupt,
but it’s safe to say you won’t literally combust due to an emotion anytime soon.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Literally
Usage Note:
For more than a hundred years, critics have remarked on the incoherence of using literally in a way that suggests the exact opposite of its primary sense of "in a manner that accords with the literal sense of the words." In 1926, for example, H.W. Fowler deplored the example "The 300,000 Unionists ... will be literally thrown to the wolves." The practice reflects a tendency to use certain adverbs, like completely and unbelievably, as general intensifiers, without calling to mind the primary sense of the adjective from which the adverb is made. In this regard, literally is very similar to the adverb really, whose intensive use often has nothing to do with what is "real," as in They really dropped the ball in marketing that product. · With regard to literally, the Usage Panel supports the traditional view. In our 2004 survey, only 23 percent of the Panel accepted the following sentence, in which literally undercuts the sentence's central metaphor:
The situation was especially grim in England where industrialism was literally swallowing the country's youth.
The Panel mustered more enthusiasm for the use of literally with a dead metaphor, which functions as a set phrase and evokes no image for most people. Some 37 percent accepted
He was literally out of his mind with worry.
But when there is no metaphor at all, a substantial majority of the Panel was willing to allow literally to be used as an intensifier; 66 percent accepted the sentence
They had literally no help from the government on the project.
COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY
USAGE FOR LITERALLY
The use of literally as an intensifier is common, esp in informal contexts.
In some cases, it provides emphasis without adding to the meaning:
the house was literally only five minutes walk away.
Often, however, its use results in absurdity:
the news was literally an eye-opener to me.
It is therefore best avoided in formal contexts
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Frequently Asked Questions About literally
Can literally mean figuratively?
One of the definitions of literally that we provide is "in effect, virtually
—used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description
that is not literally true or possible."
Some find this objectionable on the grounds that it is not the primary meaning of the word, "with the meaning of each individual word given exactly."
However, this extended definition of literally is commonly used
and is not quite the same meaning as figuratively
("with a meaning that is metaphorical rather than literal").
Is the extended use of literally new?
The "in effect; virtually" meaning of literally is not a new sense.
It has been in regular use since the 18th century and may be found in the writings of Mark Twain, Charlotte Brontë, James Joyce, and many others.
Is the extended use of literally slang?
Among the meaning of literally is one which many people find problematic:
"in effect, virtually
—used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible."
Neither this nor any of the other meanings of literally is what we would consider slang.
This sense has been in standard use by many esteemed writers since the 18th century.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
Did We Change the Definition of 'Literally'?
Literally every modern dictionary includes this definition
Is it ever okay to use literally to mean "figuratively"?
F. Scott Fitzgerald did it (“He literally glowed”).
So did James Joyce (“Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet”),
W. M. Thackeray (“I literally blazed with wit”),
Charlotte Brontë (“she took me to herself, and proceeded literally to suffocate me with her unrestrained spirits”) and others of their ilk.
But the fact that Charles Dickens used literally in a figurative sense
("'Lift him out,' said Squeers, after he had literally feasted his eyes, in silence, upon the culprit") doesn't stop readers from complaining about our definition.
We define literally in two senses:
1) in a literal sense or manner : actually
2) in effect : virtually
Some of our readers are not happy about this.
Here are a few of the comments left at this entry:
Definition 2: the dictionary is literally wrong.
This is literally the stupidest thing I've ever read.
I literally can't even.
Some people choose not to leave such comments on our site
(perhaps they do not wish to hurt our feelings), but still want to make their displeasure clear. These people comment on other forums, as in this sample taken from a comment thread on dailykos.com:
Considering that Merriam-Webster has redefined “literally” to mean “figuratively,” I’m going with literally.
Our poor language, I’m figuratively about to hurl.
Agreed! How you you [sic] agree to accept (I’m looking at you craven dictionary editors!) a word that means the exact opposite? It’s unfathomably stupid.
Never trust anything but the OED...
It's fine to trust the OED, but you might want to check their definition first:
literally, adv. 1c. colloq. Used to indicate that some (freq. conventional) metaphorical or hyperbolical expression is to be taken in the strongest admissible sense: "virtually, as good as"; (also) "completely, utterly, absolutely."
—Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, Sept. 2011
Aaargh! That doesn’t seem very literal at all! The dark forces of "figurative-literalism" must have gotten to them, perhaps by blackmailing the editors. Let’s look at how some other current dictionaries define this word.
literally, adv. … 3.b. Used as an intensive before a figurative expression.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, 2016
literally, adverb … 2. (intensifier) ⇒ there were literally thousands of people
—Collins English Dictionary
Literally every modern dictionary includes a definition for the metaphoric or intensifying sense of the word literally.
Why do we hate the English language so?
We don’t.
There is no plot by dictionary-makers to destroy our language.
There is not even a plot to loosen our language's morals and corrupt it a bit.
There is, however, a strong impulse among lexicographers to catalog the language as it is used, and there is a considerable body of evidence indicating that literally has been used in this fashion for a very long time. All of the dictionaries listed above also provide usage notes with the definition of literally, indicating that this sense is widely frowned upon.
We include a note as well, which reads as follows:
Since some people take sense 2 to be the opposite of sense 1, it has been frequently criticized as a misuse. Instead, the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary.
If this sense of literally is bothersome, you needn’t use it. If you dislike hearing other people use it, you may continue to be upset. If you would like to broaden your complaint slightly, and insist that the original meaning of literal is the only proper one, go right ahead (although, before committing to this, you should be aware that this will restrict you to using literal when you mean “of, relating to, or expressed in letters”).
The use of literally in a fashion that is hyperbolic or metaphoric is not new—evidence of this use dates back to 1769. Its inclusion in a dictionary isn't new either; the entry for literally in our 1909 unabridged dictionary states that the word is “often used hyperbolically; as, he literally flew.” We (and all the other “craven dictionary editors”) have included this definition for a very simple reason: a lot of people use it this way, and our entries are based on evidence of use. Furthermore, the fact that so many people are writing angry letters serves as a sort of secondhand evidence, as they would hardly be complaining about this usage if it had not become common.
We understand that many have chosen this particular issue as the one about which they choose to draw a line in the sand, on the grounds thata word should not mean one thing and its opposite (a fairly common thing in English).
But a living language is a language that is always changing;
this change may be lovely, and it may be ugly.
As lexicographers we are in the business of defining language, rather than judging it.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Literally
The problem some people have with literally is that it’s a mushy adverb:
if we removed it from our example and said “I died laughing,”
the sentence is understood in precisely the same (non-literal) way—as hyperbole.
Adding “literally” just adds emphasis; it’s the salt in the stew because the burden of meaning is on the other words (“died laughing”).
Therefore, if “literally” is added and no change in meaning is the result,
then ipso facto “literally” literally carries little meaning in this particular sentence.
This reduction of a word’s intensity is called “semantic bleaching,” and it’s a linguistic phenomenon that is more common than you may realize: when you say “Have a great day!” you don’t mean “Have a day that is large in spatial dimension,” and when you say “That movie was awesome” you don’t necessarily mean “That movie was expressive of awe or terror.” Both great and awesome (and fantastic, amazing, awful, and many others) have meanings that have become less literal over time. We could say that the problem with some uses of literally isn’t that it has lost some of its meaning, it’s that other uses haven’t lost the original meaning “by the letter” or “actually.” Both exist in frequent usage today.
Like literally,
very and really retain their original meanings but have added another.
Very came to English from the French spoken by the Norman invaders, and the 13th-century word for “true” was verai, which compressed to vrai in modern French. The ultimate Latin root is verus, meaning “true.” We still use very to mean “truly” or “truthfully” (“that was a very brave act,” “I’m very sorry”), but it frequently conveys emphasis for which truth is neither particularly important nor in doubt (“the very last thing I packed,” “you’re very welcome,” “the food isn’t very good”). It’s an intensifier—a word that colors another but that, in this case, has little color itself.
The same is true of really: sometimes it means “in reality” (“they really are twins”) but it often confers simple emphasis (“I had a really great time”) or subjective judgment (“that’s a really good play”) that doesn’t depend on objective realness or reality. Ultimately originally meant “finally” or “at the end” (“they ultimately succeeded”) reflecting its Latin root ultimatus meaning “last” or “final,” but is now also often used to mean “eventually” (“we ultimately agreed to the deal”). Actually originally meant “in act or in fact” (“I don’t know what actually happened”) but is much weaker in meaning when it is used to emphasize that a statement is true or surprising (“we actually planned to leave early,” “the movie was actually pretty good”).
Sometimes it seems as though literally is held to an adverbial double standard that makes many people question the validity of its use as an intensifier, whereas other words with similar patterns of usage seem to pass without criticism. While it’s important to be careful about language use,
it’s also important to acknowledge that language is flexible
and words can have several different meanings.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary
usage: Since the early 20th century, literally has been widely used as an intensifier
meaning “in effect, virtually”:
The senator was literally buried alive in the June primaries.
This use, common in many styles of speech and writing,
is often criticized for being the opposite of the original meaning of literal.
In such cases, nothing is lost by omitting literally.
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
Like “incredible,” “literally” has been so overused
as a sort of vague intensifier that it is in danger of losing its literal meaning.
It should be used to distinguish between a figurative and a literal meaning of a phrase.
It should not be used as a synonym for “actually” or “really.”
Don’t say of someone that he “literally blew up” unless he swallowed a stick of dynamite.
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