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dclayh comments on Zwicky's Trifecta of Illusions - Less Wrong
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Many people seem to think virtually any kind of language trend is undesirable. They perceive practically all change as degeneration. Needless to say, this attitude is considered completely baseless by actual linguists.
If true, this is sad. Personally I applaud language changes that increase complexity (e.g. neologisms) and disparage ones that reduce it (words or grammatical constructions falling out of use; two words that mean different things being used to mean the same thing).
Not all language changes that increase complexity are useful. In many cases, the use of particular words, or ways of speaking, can best be understood as wasteful signaling.
True. But the purpose of language is not merely to be useful, but also beautiful and fun.