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Who Decides What Words Mean?

Somebody used a word wrong today, and either that is a real thing that happened or it is a thing you believe about a word.

Dictionaries have taken a side on this, which surprises people who assume the dictionary is on theirs. Ten statements, about two minutes, and one number for where you think the authority actually sits.

10 questions

Answered 0 of 10

  1. 1 If everyone understands a sentence, there is nothing wrong with it.
  2. 2 I have corrected someone's grammar out loud.
  3. 3 Schools should hold students to one standard version of the language.
  4. 4 Shared rules are what let a sentence mean the same thing to a stranger.
  5. 5 The rules people were taught in school were mostly somebody's preference.
  6. 6 Mistakes in someone's writing change how seriously I take what they wrote.
  7. 7 A new word that catches on has earned its place.
  8. 8 A dictionary's job is to record how people actually use words.
  9. 9 A word can have a correct meaning that most people are getting wrong.
  10. 10 The way people write to each other is as legitimate as the way they write for print.