Twitter alternative Parler soars as conservatives flock to new social network

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cathoholic
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Seriously, you’re using the URBAN DICTIONARY, a site where anyone can write a definition and if it gets 5 votes or more it passes muster and becomes published???
Anyone with a Facebook or Gmail account can submit a new word or phrase, and volunteer editors—which are really just anyone who visits the site and clicks Edit—decide if submissions pass muster by simply voting to “Add It!,” “Keep Out!,” or “I Can’t Decide.” In other words, editors do not actually edit. According to a New York Times story from 2013, only five people must vote to add a definition for it to be included in Urban Dictionary, though even at that time about 2/3rds of entries were rejected. Some terms rack up hundreds of submitted meanings. Democracy—in the form of users voting thumbs up or thumbs down—was supposed to let the most accurate definitions rise to the top.

The profane, offensive, and grammatically and mechanically incorrect often go unchecked. “I love the imperfections in it,” Peckham told the Guardian in a 2011 interview. "People’s grammar or punctuation or spelling – it’s just so raw. Straight from the heart of the person who’s writing it, with no corrections made. Meaning is in the eye of the beholder, but maybe spelling and punctuation are as well."
Click to expand...
And I am conveying the word as it is meant to be conveyed. My statement was not derogatory and only someone biased would attempt to say that it is.

I will continue to use the word “leftist” no matter who feels offended by it.

Do you understand?
 
Last edited:
josie_L said:
Just to show how biased you are, here is a definition of “leftist” taken from the dictionary:
Click to expand...
It looks like what is being discussed here is based on the difference in a denotation and a connotation. I think it is fair to say that within this forum “leftists” has generally been used with a negative connotation. In some other communities it might not. It may even be an in-group label in some communities.
 
You can’t bully me into believing that the word leftist is wrong. Sorry.

And, it’s misleading to say that the word means what the completely subjective definition on Urban dictionary means.

Every LEGITIMATE dictionary I accessed uses the definition I gave.
 
But this is subjective rather than based on the reality of what the word actually means.

And moreover, how I am using it.
 
Last edited:
If it’s a pejorative you have every right to flag my post. Otherwise this discussion is becoming meaningless.
 
Last edited:
josie_L said:
If it’s a pejorative you have every right to flag my post. Otherwise this discussion is becoming meaningless.
Click to expand...
I. don’t. care.

If you want to use it, go right ahead. I wouldn’t flag it, I just look at such things when I evaluate a post.

I probably shouldn’t have gotten between you two.
 
josie_L said:
But this is subjective rather than based on the reality of what the word actually means.
Click to expand...
Words have whatever meanings that people imbue them with. Both the speaker and the audience imbue them with meanings. This is why it is difficult to read older documents; people use many of the same words with different intended meanings.

General dictionaries document usage patterns. They are descriptive instead of prescriptive. That’s why the word “literally” not has a definition of “figuratively/virtually”, why “very” and “really” are intensifiers instead of being defined as “truthfully/genuine” or “actually.”

Fun fact: The word “girl” had been used to refer to a child of either sex.

To add to this complexity, communication tends to be highly contextual and people can be creative in how they use a phrase. For example, “I’ll pray for you” can be both an expression of concern and an insult. Spoken communication has even more complexities that have their own fields of study (ex: paralinguistics).

I tend to enjoy books written by dictionary editors and linguists. I’m thinking specifically about the book “Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation” by Ammon Shea. John McWhoter’s “Words on the Move: Why English Can’t and Won’t sit Still” is another good one.
 
www.dictionary.com

Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words

The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years!
www.dictionary.com www.dictionary.com

From Collins dictionary:

leftist in American English​

(ˈlɛftɪst )

NOUN
a person whose political position is liberal or radical; member of the left

ADJECTIVE
liberal or radical
Click to expand...
www.merriam-webster.com

Definition of LEFTISM

the principles and views of the left; also : the movement embodying these principles; advocacy of or adherence to the doctrines of the left… See the full definition
www.merriam-webster.com www.merriam-webster.com

dictionary.cambridge.org

leftist

1. a supporter of the political left: 2. supporting or relating to the…
dictionary.cambridge.org dictionary.cambridge.org


www.britannica.com

Left | Definition & Facts

Left, in politics, the portion of the political spectrum associated in general with egalitarianism and popular or state control of the major institutions of political and economic life. Leftists tend to be hostile to the interests of traditional elites and to favor the interests of the working...
www.britannica.com www.britannica.com
 
Last edited:
ThinkingSapien said:
Fun fact: The word “girl” had been used to refer to a child of either sex.
Click to expand...
Another fun fact. The word silly originally meant blessed! Imagine reading an old homily and it refers to “silly Mary”!

(I’m a fan of language, especially English, too)
 
Start a campaign to get leftists to ban the word "leftist’ because (you think) it’s demeaning.
 
Last edited:
josie_L said:
Start a campaign to get leftists to ban the word "leftist’ because its demeaning.
Click to expand...
That will be another word on the euphemism treadmill. Hoping that CAF auto-filters don’t trip on this one. I’m about to use some words here that are often use as insults. I do not mean to insult anyone and am only making a comment on word usage.

Something like that was done with the “mentally retarded.” A campaign was started to get people to stop using that word and to use some other word. Some words that had been used previously were “idiot” and “moron.” I think all three of these words are considered negative now.

I remember being told to use the word “special.” But that picked up a negative connotation. “Challenged” might have been a thing for a while too. Legal documents continued to use the phrase “mentally retarded” until Obama signed in some legislation (Rosa’s law) to use the phrase “intellectual disability.” Some part of that feels like full circle, because rather dated dictionaries used the definition “a person with an intellectual disability” for the definition of the words “idiot” and “moron.”

But as of yet, “intellectual disability” doesn’t have that negative connotation.
 
Pattylt said:
(I’m a fan of language, especially English, too)
Click to expand...
I’ve got a friend that also loves English. We play word games all the time by invoking lesser used meanings of words.

I’ve had fun with one of my friends that likes playing word games by offering an “apology” for something. Since “Apology” can be used to mean “an admission of an error” or “a statement made in defense” someone’s apology could express repenting or doubling down on something. 🙂

I’ve only done this with friends that take it as a joke though.
 
You can assume all you want because it seems that’s what you’ll do anyways with or without provocation.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top