Editing 2039: Begging the Question

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| number    = 2039
 
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| date      = August 29, 2018
 
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| title    = Begging the Question
 
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| image    = begging_the_question.png
 
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| titletext = At least we can all agree on the enormity of this usage.
 
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==Explanation==
 
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This comic makes fun of the constant battle between those who maintain a {{w|Linguistic prescription|prescriptive view of language}} and those who have a {{w|Linguistic description|descriptive view}}.  In the prescriptive view, language has fixed rules and fixed usage, and any usage that does not adhere to established rules is incorrect. In the descriptive view however, language is malleable and any usage can be correct if it is common and understood by most people.
 
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The comic specifically calls out two phrases which are commonly misused in the prescriptive sense, and whose meanings have changed in modern usage in the descriptive sense:
 
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;Nauseous
 
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''Nauseous'' in its supposedly 'proper' form means "causing {{w|nausea}}", while ''nauseated'' means affected with nausea.
 
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Prescriptively speaking, it is only correct to use the word "nauseous" to describe the food item since that was the cause of Ponytail's nausea. Saying "the food made her nauseous" would be interpreted, by a prescriptivist, as meaning the food somehow caused her (her body, her appearance, etc.) to become so disgusting that she now causes other people to feel nausea. As White Hat states, the proper phrasing is that the "the food was nauseous", and it "made [her] nauseated".
 
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Both historically and in modern usage, however, "nauseous" is a valid synonym of "nauseated". It is difficult, if not impossible, to cite an era of history when most people would not understand "she is nauseous" to mean she does not feel well.
 
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;Begging the question
 
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{{w|Begging the question}} originally referred to a logical fallacy where an argument assumed its conclusion. The phrase first meant to question (beg) the original question. In modern usage, it has come to mean to "raise a question or point that has not been dealt with". This is often a point of contention for prescriptivists. However, as the caption explains, Cueball has an entirely different meaning for this phrase that he created himself: "fight a losing battle against changing usage". This is actually a meta-meaning, as that is actually the common activity of prescriptivists who complain about incorrect usage; it's a losing battle, because language change is inevitable and unstoppable. And specifically, trying to preserve the original meaning of "begging the question" is a losing battle.
 
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Ponytail might recognize that her exposure to nauseous food has both nauseated her and caused her to become nauseous to Cueball. The question is not merely begged, it is missed.
 
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The title text also plays on another word commonly argued over by prescriptivists. "Enormity" in its classical usage means either extreme wickedness or a monstrous offense or evil, though it is more commonly used in modern writing as a synonym for enormousness (i.e. largeness in size). The title text exploits the lexical ambiguity that this creates.
 
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==Transcript==
 
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:[Ponytail and White Hat standing next to each other talking. White Hat has raised his hand while Cueball stands behind him.]
 
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:Ponytail: That food made me nauseous.
 
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:White Hat: No, the ''food'' was nauseous. It made you ''nauseated''.
 
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:Cueball: Come on, you're just begging the question.
 
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:[Caption below the frame:]
 
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:I annoy people on all sides by using "beg the question" to mean "fight a losing battle against changing usage".
 
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{{comic discussion}}
 
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
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[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
 
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[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
 
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[[Category:Language]]
 
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[[Category:How to annoy]]
 

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