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Assessing how the meanings of words change over time

Change is a part of every day life. People change, opinions change, preferences change, even life partners change, but since when do the words coming out of your mouth mean something different than when you said them last week?.

In the 1800's the word love wasn't thrown around amongst every person that you dated, it was saved for your life partner and only your life partner, not like these days when thirteen year old teenagers are saying they love each other in the back seat of movie theaters. It seems with the art of text messaging around even a simple I love you which comes out "luv u" doesn't even have the same meaning anymore. Is it that words are being taken too literal or not literal enough?. Lets take for example the word promise, what is a promise anymore its used almost in every sentence "i promise ill be there at noon" or "i promised to take Sophie shopping" or my favorite "its my anniversary so i promised to take the wife out to dinner". Promises, promises, promises-broken, broken, broken. It seems a promise is merely a synonym for "said". I wonder how many words Merriam Webster has had to remove, or correct for a new meaning since 1898, granted the times have changed but has the words changed with it? so many questions and not enough answers. Which brings me to my other favorite word "debate" which is the new word for smack thrown down argument, it seems to me that everyone is "debating" on who's right and who's wrong instead of just arguing like the good old days. I guess debate does sound more constructive, like women are actually going to let men have a chance to win: thats hilarious.

How about the faithful phrase "I'm almost there" it may seem small and common but when your at dinner and waiting for your significant other who said there almost there and turn up forty-five minutes later, its a phrase you've come to hate. But i suppose these days its correct to be fashionably late. Meanings and words will change over time, they'll fade in and out and eventually Romeo and Juliet's little thing they had for each other called love will be nothing but a silly little text message blinking at your ridiculously on the screen.

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