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The words listed below are frequently used in ways that major English dictionaries do not condone in any definition. See List of English words with disputed usage for words that are used in ways that are deprecated by some usage writers but are condoned by some dictionaries.
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
An article suffering from such language should be rewritten to correct the problem or, if an editor is unsure how best to make a correction, the article may be tagged with an appropriate template, such as {{Peacock term}}. Puffery is an example of positively loaded language; negatively loaded language should be avoided just as much. People ...
Pig Latin (Igpay Atinlay) is a language game, argot, or cant in which words in English are altered, usually by adding a fabricated suffix or by moving the onset or initial consonant or consonant cluster of a word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable (usually -ay or /eɪ/) to create such a suffix. [1]
In sociolinguistics, hypercorrection is the nonstandard use of language that results from the overapplication of a perceived rule of language-usage prescription.A speaker or writer who produces a hypercorrection generally believes through a misunderstanding of such rules that the form or phrase they use is more "correct", standard, or otherwise preferable, often combined with a desire to ...
Then there’s the other weird thing the former president does with capitalization, where he caps the beginning of words for seemingly no good reason. This post-debate missive from his Truth ...
Pandanus language "Don't use regular words, you'll ruin the screwpine nuts." A prime example of an avoidance language. Pirahã language: A language spoken by the Amazonian Pirahã people, and an example of a language that can be whistled. The subject of controversial claims that it proves the theory of linguistic relativity. Plains Indian Sign ...
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