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Comment by briandear | Hacker News Reader

Does not something wrong enough times doesn’t make it correct.

For example using “because” without a preposition doesn’t become correct just because Buzzfeed makes it popular.

People make grammar/useage mistakes not because they consciously want to change the language but because they don’t know any differently. It’s quite different than how slang enters a language. Begs vs. raises the question isn’t some kind of colloquial thing, it’s just a misuse. I get things wrong when the language frequently enough, but when it’s pointed out, I don’t continue doing it; in fact, I am happy for the opportunity to increase my precision with the language.

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>Does not something wrong enough times doesn’t make it correct.

This isn't true in natural language. Do something enough times -- 'wrong' or 'right' -- and it becomes a part of the language. Like it or not.

Crack an Oxford English Dictionary sometime. Look up your favorite word. Notice that there will be tens of different definitions, including a historical trace of 'first uses' through semantic changes, for the single word.

>People make grammar/useage mistakes not because they consciously want to change the language but because they don’t know any differently

Consciously or not, they are changing the language. Language isn't a fixed thing with unbreakable rules. It is mutable. A language is however people use it; it isn't a thing to know in its entirety before using.

People don't have to consciously want to change the language for it to change. It's not like the differences between modern English and Victorian-era English are all because someone willed it. Usage dictates meaning, and I'd say the general public uses 'begs the question' as 'raises the question', whereas only people interested in philosophy use it as 'presume the answer' - essentially the latter version has become a sort of jargon regarding fallacies.

It's like the word 'irregardless'. As much as 'it isn't a word', it clearly is, because you know what is meant when it's said, and plenty of people say it.

'begs the question' is a bad translation of petitio principii, which is itself a bad translation from a greek text. The general usage of the term is the only correct interpretation. The phrase seems to be a trap for a certain category of pedants.

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