Language change, two demonstrations

[firecat]

1. The adjective "gay" swings wildly from positive to negative to positive
(Original tweet: https://twitter.com/DenpaCodec/status/948397078861955072)
the robot from evangelion
@anildasharez0ne
1998: the teens are calling everything gay
2008: the teens aren't sure they should be really calling things gay
2018: the teens are calling everything gay again, but in a positive way this time

firecat notes that it seems to be working its way back to its 1200s-1300s meaning, "Bright or lively-looking, esp. in colour; brilliant, showy" and its 1400s-and-later meaning, "light-hearted, carefree; manifesting, characterized by, or disposed to joy and mirth; exuberantly cheerful, merry; sportive." (http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/77207 — login required, unfortunately)

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2. A certain expletive gains acceptability in new contexts.

"Samuel L. Jackson, Patron Saint of ‘MFers,’ Endorses Rashida Tlaib’s Expert Usage on Trump" by Anne Branigin on The Grapevine

Jackson then proceeded to spell “motherfucker” three different ways, because when you’re Sam Jackson, why the fuck wouldn’t you?

Samuel L. Jackson
@SamuelLJackson
@RashidaTlaib I just wanna Wholeheartedly endorse your use of & clarity of purpose when declaring your Motherfucking goal last week.Calling that Muthafukkah a Motherfucker is not an issue,calling that Muthaffuqah President Is!!!#motherfuckeristoogoodtowasteonthatcankersore

[original tweet: https://twitter.com/SamuelLJackson/status/1082097661916954625]

Comments

[sabotabby]

OMG is that his real account? So he is also wonderful IRL?

[firecat]

I'm guessing it's his real account!

[kshandra]

It is! And I'm willing to bet that if you were willing to take the algorithm hit, you could probably do a web search and find a canonical list of ALL of the ways he has spelled muhfuggah since he started tweeting, because I don't think he's ever used the same one twice in a row.

[firecat]

Great idea!