• TheOubliette
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    4 hours ago

    The reality of language is that people like op rely on the negative connotation of the definition I just gave.

    Imagine of they just said, “advocating for” instead. Wouldn’t have the same impact, right?

    • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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      3 hours ago

      Yup.

      You say that like it’s mutually exclusive. Nobody gets to choose how other people use language. Definitions are whatever people agree that they are, even if you’re not one of the people who agrees with it.
      You can dislike that definition of tankie all you want, the fact that they used it in this way and that you understood it means that it was used correctly.

      The evolution of language may hurt people, but denying the reality of evolving language hurts nobody but yourself. The etymology and history is good to know (and the meme relies on it), but the new definition is still a correct alternate definition.

      • TheOubliette
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        2 hours ago

        Oh I misunderstood and thought we were talking about a different word. This makes this discussion even sillier.

        You say that like it’s mutually exclusive. Nobody gets to choose how other people use language. Definitions are whatever people agree that they are, even if you’re not one of the people who agrees with it.\

        How do people agree what they are without telling other people their meaning explicitly or implicitly? What about people that intentionally misuse language to deceive? What about language that is self-descriptive due to selective use?

        I’m aware of prescriptivism vs descriptionism but this conversation isn’t actually about that. In fact, I am already following a descriptivist line of reasoning, if you will review my earlier comment. I am saying how tankie is used nowadays.

        You can dislike that definition of tankie all you want

        What definition? Which one do I dislike? I don’t know what you’re talking about.

        the fact that they used it in this way and that you understood it means that it was used correctly.

        The way I understood it is, “anyone defending a target of US empire in any way from the left that I would like to stop listening to before my brain breaks”. Seems spot-on to me.

        The evolution of language may hurt people, but denying the reality of evolving language hurts nobody but yourself. The etymology and history is good to know (and the meme relies on it), but the new definition is still a correct alternate definition.

        What on earth do you think you’re replying to?

        • PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca
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          56 minutes ago

          Dude, idk.

          I was just like “you seem to be telling the dude that he isn’t using tankie correctly, but that’s not how language works”

          And then you replied that I’m wrong, and seemed to be making an appeal that the negative connotations had to do with the invalidity of the definition.

          Our wires are so crossed at this point that a random car in 1960 Spain just got spontaneously hotwired.