14 February 2014
I've just been looking at this status on Facebook my cousin posted on the 9th. He was basically making an observation about how the meaning of the word "curvy" has changed--that overweight girls are now using it to describe themselves rather than using it in the traditional sense to mean smaller waistlines and bigger hips and chests. He was just saying that the meaning of the word was changing and he didn't like where it was going.
Lots of people made comments, like 64 all together (which took forever to read but its here: https://www.facebook.com/obamookun/posts/10153829495140422?notif_t=close_friend_activity if you can get into it), some of which were about the word meaning, and some about WHY the meaning was changing.
Anyway a bunch of his friends were arguing about it and the whole time I was reading it, all I could think was that they didn't know the difference between the denotative value of a word versus the connotative value. The denotative is the definition given by the dictionary, were as the connotative is the definition given to it by use within the language. Kind of like the formal versus the informal. (Plus no one had a very good denotative argument because NO ONE used the Oxford English Dictionary, which is the academically accepted dictionary). But I had a good laugh about it because of they're attempts. The best part was that, for a Linguist, it might make an excellent paper. Maybe a short paper, but certainly interesting. And they were just gabbing away about it on facebook. Funny how that happens.
I just wanted to say because I felt like I couldn't make a comment. The last one was the 11th, meaning everyone was done talking about it. Silly, silly, silly.
Too bad October was the last time I posted. I always have something to say, just never any time to say it. School + baby + homework + house chores = no time. Most days anyway.
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