Yamaku Book Club (20220124 Dish Washing)

[forgetmenot]

I am also behind, so don't worry. It isn't just you.

[Sea]

Hello there, I was going to just postpone the club until the Library fics are done but to give the writers more time we're going to go ahead and do a quick one.

Classroom Game by oddball (completed, 1.361 words)
PoV: Hisao; Pairings: Hisao X Miki; Begins: unsppecified
Remarks:

See y'all tomorrow.

[Mirage_GSM]

Well, it's a very short Miki-route, but at least it's not aborted

[Sea]

Well, it's a very short Miki-route, but at least it's not aborted

One can dream

[Comrade]

I always felt "aborted" is the wrong word for it, because of connotations and whatnt

[Mirage_GSM]

Just because pregnancies can also be aborted that doesn't mean that nothing else can...

[Comrade]

Just because pregnancies can also be aborted that doesn't mean that nothing else can...

Yes.
Your point?

[Helbereth]

When NASA --or the modern equivalent -- has to scrub a mission mid-launch, what would you rather they call it? When Obama accidentally hits the red button -- starting the countdown to nuclear holocaust -- and some tech-savvy super-geek manages to shut it down at the 1 second mark, what would you say happened to the countdown?

There are no bad words, or forbidden words, or heretical words, especially in English; they're just words, and their meanings are neutral until you apply context.

[bhtooefr]

However, what is a language without context? And, seeing as English isn't a prescriptive language, the meaning isn't just neutral without context, it's nonexistent without it.

[brythain]

However, what is a language without context? And, seeing as English isn't a prescriptive language, the meaning isn't just neutral without context, it's nonexistent without it.

You're assuming it isn't a prescriptive language because that's what the context has taught you to believe. But it is partially prescriptive too, or it wouldn't work either. 'Abort' means to terminate prematurely, regardless of context. Once you supply the phenomenon terminated, it has extension to its meaning by association (context) while retaining its original meaning.

[Silentcook]

However, what is a language without context?

A miserable pile of words.

[KeiichiO]

However, what is a language without context?

A miserable pile of words.

But enough talk, have at yo-...

...Carry on

[Comrade]

Yet I still don't think it's the right word in this context.
For library entries i use "Abandoned"

[bhtooefr]

And "abandoned" is actually a good term for it, that doesn't have the political context.

Abandoning something means that you're walking away from it, whereas aborting something is taking action to stop it from continuing. A fanfic can't continue on its own, it requires action to continue it, whereas an in-flight space shuttle launch or a pregnancy will continue without action, unless you act to stop it.

In any case, context is what gives a word meaning, especially in a non-prescriptive language (and even when the usage of a word is prescribed, all of the bodies that prescribe usage merely document it, and then are used as references to ensure consistency - but if the meaning changes with usage (for instance, a word acquiring a new context), those bodies act to reflect the usage, they don't create the word and define how it should be used, they define how an existing word is used). Therefore, it's not possible to separate a word from its context, especially when actually using the word in society, not completely. Sometimes groups can reclaim a word ("queer" comes to mind), but that's giving it a new context that acts in spite of (but in relation to, as well) its existing context.

[brythain]

In any case, context is what gives a word meaning, especially in a non-prescriptive language (and even when the usage of a word is prescribed, all of the bodies that prescribe usage merely document it, and then are used as references to ensure consistency - but if the meaning changes with usage (for instance, a word acquiring a new context), those bodies act to reflect the usage, they don't create the word and define how it should be used, they define how an existing word is used). Therefore, it's not possible to separate a word from its context, especially when actually using the word in society, not completely. Sometimes groups can reclaim a word ("queer" comes to mind), but that's giving it a new context that acts in spite of (but in relation to, as well) its existing context.

The point is that language must be both prescribed as well as described. Whatever people decide to scribe as the meaning of the word is something that has been taught to them in advance. Since that is prescription, their own scribing is description, which then become prescriptive, and so on. The distinction is actually between natural and synthetic languages, since a synthetic language begins purely prescriptively, whereas it's probably not safe to say that for a natural language.

The faster society moves, the more we veer towards descriptivism. It's the triumph of the looser ('democratic', 'liberal', 'social') over the tighter ('autocratic', 'conservative', 'traditional') which occurs in such circumstances. But definitions are still taught, and endure—just as liberalism needs conservatism in their pure sense.

It's a lot like canon vs non-canon and the fun discussions we have about people like Miki.