Language changes. As culture shifts, so do the words we use. Thanks to technology and the proliferation of ways in which to communicate, our language is changing faster than ever before.

I do not quibble with this basic notion that the meaning of words is not static, but ebbs and flows with time. On the other hand, as a word makes a transition from one meaning to another, or from a literal understanding to a figurative one, meaning becomes murky. And so the question becomes: “Is the word being used incorrectly or has the word’s meaning changed and the correct usage expanded?”

That’s all a rather long-winded way to say: the incorrect usage of following words or phrases really pisses me off and I need to know whether to just get over it or make a fuss.  A few examples that really raise my hackles:

• literally – as I understand it, literally used to mean, “word for word, actually, exactly” as in “Jimmy was literally counting his pennies so he could afford the candy bar.” Or, “The race was literally too close to call.” In each of these circumstances, literally describes the situation exactly. If the writer intended otherwise, the word “virtually” or “figuratively” could have been used. To take the latter example, if at the end of the race no racer was deemed the winner then the race was “literally” too close to call. If it was just a close race but a winner was obvious, it was just “virtually” or “figuratively” too close to call. But it seems that this old definition of literally has practically flown the coop. I wonder even if editors even note the virtual usage of “literally” anymore. Do I just need to figuratively get over it?
• “use” of “quotes” — this annoyance isn’t actually a word at all, but the excessive use of quotation marks around words. Has anybody else noticed quotation marks beginning to be used when a writer seeks to emphasize the words in quotes?  So instead of underline or bold text, writers use “quotes” instead.  I won’t name names, but every week I receive at least one email in which the writer employs quotation marks simply to “emphasize” an “important” point. It’s annoying as all get up if you ask me.
• decimate — my granny always says, “Decimate comes from the Latin meaning ‘ten’ so to decimate means to deplete by 10%.” Maybe the rest of the world has moved on from this one, but thanks to my grandmother, I always wince when I hear “decimate” used simply to mean “destroy a large number.” I admit, I probably should just move on, but even so, please refrain from saying something like, “My M&Ms were decimated by half.” I just can’t take the inner turmoil.

I’ll stop there for now, but I may post again on other language annoyances. I just hope I’m not turning into my grandmother, bless her heart.