Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

dastultz t1_j13iq0j wrote

Reply to comment by OhNoMyLands in Marine Corps Plans To Get Rid Of "Yes Sir" Over Gender Neutrality Concerns - by Informal-Suit9126

I understand "sir" to be short for "senior", as a title of respect. It isn't necessarily gender specific. We can change words however we want to.

10

TheOccultist t1_j15073n wrote

No, you really can't.

−11

Electrical_Tip352 t1_j151z4h wrote

Yes we really can. The meaning of words changes all the time. Take guys for example. Originally a gendered term, but is now, in common language, gender neutral. Same with dude.

11

TheOccultist t1_j153hxt wrote

Words mean something for a reason. If you change the meaning of words then they don't really mean anything. How about we change go f*** yourself to actually mean you look great today? Do you think this could cause any confusion and problems? What about racial slurs? Can we say that they mean flowers and bunny rabbits now and that's okay? What if we change the word stupid to actually mean smart? Words mean something for a reason. And by switching them around at whim all you're doing is degrading human language and what it means.

−14

Electrical_Tip352 t1_j1545ns wrote

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_change#:~:text=Semantic%20change%20(also%20semantic%20shift,different%20from%20the%20original%20usage.

Here you go buddy. No one is talking about one person just deciding a word isn’t bad 😂. The meanings of words literally changes over time in a society.

6

TheOccultist t1_j1562gj wrote

Yes, obviously I realized there's a precedence. And that has often gone on to lead to more stupidity and ambiguity. Look at the word literally. It literally does not mean literally anymore and this literally is a sentence that doesn't make sense.

−8

Electrical_Tip352 t1_j15c50u wrote

Lol. I literally get what you’re saying. Hahah.

2

ScottIPease t1_j16h31w wrote

and here I am literally wondering if they are a literal troll, or literal moron...

3

Noman800 t1_j154mr2 wrote

Words are just sounds coming out of your mouth. We arbitrarily decided what they meant to start with, they aren't imbued with meaning. Words and their meaning are malleable and change all the damn time.

3