Etymological fallacy
Topic: Social
From HandWiki - Reading time: 4 min
An etymological fallacy is an argument of equivocation, arguing that a word is defined by its etymology, and that its customary usage is therefore incorrect.[1][2]
History
Ancient Greeks taught that a word's meaning could be tracked across time, creating a distinction between formal and informal language, with a similar practice existing among ancient Vedic scholars. In modern linguistic anthropology, semiotics and semantics are intertwined, and reflective of a society's culture across time. The discipline operates on the principle that current meaning derives from previous meaning, which has embedded itself in the predicate of subsequent derivatives. Removing the etymological history thus removes necessary context on which present meaning ontologically depends.
Occurrence and examples
An etymological fallacy becomes possible when a word's meaning shifts over time from its original meaning. Such changes can include a narrowing or widening of scope or a change of connotation (amelioration or pejoration). In some cases, modern usage can shift to the point where the new meaning has no evident connection to its etymon.[1]
An example of a word with a potentially misleading etymology is antisemitism. The structure of the word suggests that it is about opposition to and hatred of Semitic peoples, but the term was coined in the 19th century to specifically refer to anti-Jewish beliefs and practices, and explicitly defined Jewish people as a racial class. Modern anthropology and evolutionary biology overwhelmingly reject the concept of race,[3][4] and the term Semite is rarely used anymore except in discussing Semitic languages. An etymological fallacy emerges when a speaker asserts that antisemitism is not restricted to hatred of Jews, but rather must include opposition to all other Semitic peoples.[5][6] However, sources like Encyclopædia Britannica still consider it a misnomer. [7]
See also
- Social:Folk etymology – Process of reinterpretive word formation
- Informal fallacy – Form of incorrect argument in natural language
- Philosophy:Persuasive definition – Stipulative, biased definition of a term
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sihler, Andrew (2000). Language History. Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science. Series IV, Current issues in linguistic theory. 191. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 131–133. ISBN 90-272-3698-4.
- ↑ Wilson, Kenneth G. (1993). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English.
- ↑ Templeton, A. (2016). EVOLUTION AND NOTIONS OF HUMAN RACE. In Losos J. & Lenski R. (Eds.), How Evolution Shapes Our Lives: Essays on Biology and Society (pp. 346–361). Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv7h0s6j.26.
- ↑ Wagner, Jennifer K.; Yu, Joon-Ho; Ifekwunigwe, Jayne O.; Harrell, Tanya M.; Bamshad, Michael J.; Royal, Charmaine D. (February 2017). "Anthropologists' views on race, ancestry, and genetics". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 162 (2): 318–327. doi:10.1002/ajpa.23120. PMC 5299519. PMID 27874171.
- ↑ Lipstadt, Deborah (2019). Antisemitism: Here and Now. Schocken Books. ISBN 978-0-80524337-6.
- ↑ "Encyclopedia Britannica: Semitic people can't be called antisemitic" (in en-US). 2022-02-04. https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-695378.
- ↑ "Origins and concept of anti-Semitism | Britannica" (in en). https://www.britannica.com/summary/anti-Semitism.
Further reading
- Gula, Robert J. (2002). Nonsense: A Handbook of Logical Fallacies. Axios Press. pp. 48, 161. ISBN 0-9661908-5-8.
- Steinmetz, Sol (2008). Semantic Antics: How and Why Words Change Meanings. Random House Reference. ISBN 978-0-375-42612-4. https://archive.org/details/semanticanticsho00stei.
- Zenker, Frank (2002). The Etymological Argument - Fallacy or Sound Move. Munich. ISBN 978-3-638-14401-8. OCLC 904809359.
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