Contronyms Are 'Literally' The Best

 

The American television series "Seinfeld" was famous for its unusual and often strange conversations. These conversations often took place in a diner - a kind of small, informal restaurant.

In one program, the character George is sad about where he is in life. George feels that he has made poor choices. He wants to change his life around by doing the opposite of what he has done. He would like to eat different foods, be willing to talk to strangers, and so on.

Let's listen to a few lines from the show.

Well, here's your chance to try the opposite. Instead of tuna salad and being intimidated¹ by women... chicken salad and going right up to them.”

“Yeah, I should do the opposite, I should.”

“If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right."

Today, we will explore the idea of opposites. Namely, we will look at words that have at least two meanings: one meaning and an opposite meaning.

We will also explore disputes around these words, like one involving the word "literally²".

Contronyms

English has a number of words with opposite meanings. They are called contronyms.

You will hear contronyms in the news, official speeches, and everyday conversation. You will even see them in writing.

Consider the word "sanction³."

A sanction can be a kind of punishment for disobeying a law, especially an international law.

Imagine you hear a news story about the United Nations Security Council. The story might begin with the words, "Security Council votes to impose⁴ sanctions⁵."

If you follow the news, you are probably familiar with this expression.

However, the word "sanction" can have an opposite meaning: an official approval for an action.

For example, you might read a news story about a legal dispute. The story might say, "Critics say the policy lacked legal sanction."

In this case, the critics are saying that the policy did not have official approval.

Because "sanction" has a second, opposite meaning, it is a contronym.

Here's another example of a contronym: the word “bill”.

You can have a $50 bill, or you can receive a $50 bill for medical services. In the first example, "bill" means a piece of paper money. In the second case, "bill" suggests a document that tells you how much money you owe.

Disputes over language

Americans sometimes dispute the use of a contronym. Consider the word "literally."

On the internet, many stories and videos are sharply⁶ critical of this word.

"A lot of you out there who say 'literally' don't seem to understand what 'literally' means."

Literally, in its traditional meaning, means "by the letter". It later took on the meaning "with the meaning of each word given exactly."

Americans often use it in a completely different way.

Imagine you hear the following conversation:

“Did you hear Tom's story?”

“Yes, I was literally dying of laughter. It was so funny!”

Here, the second speaker does not mean that she is dying. When she says "literally", she means "figuratively".

The word "literally" is like the character George from Seinfeld. "Literally", like George, spent time doing one thing. Now it is looking for a change.

Naturally, the word itself is not making this decision to change. English speakers are using the word in different ways.

There is nothing new or strange about this change. Many words change over time – just like people and societies.

Social uses of words

John McWhorter is an expert on languages. He notes that English speakers use some words for what he calls common, social uses. He refers to these uses by the acronym⁷ “FACE”.

Do not worry about all of the terms. The one we are interested in is the letter "F" in FACE. It means "factuality."

McWhorter notes that English speakers use words to show how truthful⁸ or exact their statements are. In other words, they include words to show how "factual" their statements are.

"Literally" has become a word that shows factuality. It shows that the speaker is using an overstatement or exaggerated language.

So, when a person says "I was literally dying of laughter," they are using the word "literally" to show that they are using exaggerated language.

If you compare this use of "literally" with the first definition of "literally," you will notice that "literally" has become a contronym.

McWhorter notes that this is a natural progression for the word. There is nothing wrong or incorrect about this change, he adds.

What can you do?

The next time you are listening to an English speaker or reading a document in English, look for examples of contronyms.

If you are having trouble understanding a sentence, it might be because the speaker or writer is using a less common meaning of a word.

Try to think about the word's context⁹. Sometimes you can understand a contronym's meaning by thinking about the other words that come in the sentence with it.

Contronyms are a strange, fun part of language. They are literally the easiest thing about the English language.

“I think you are you exaggerating…”

I'm Jill Robbins.

And I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people; the act of talking in an informal way

character – n. a person in a play or story

intimidated - adj. to be afraid

instinct - n. a way of behaving, thinking, or feeling that is not learned; a natural desire or tendency that makes you want to act in a particular way

impose – v. to establish; to bring about as if by force

figuratively – adj. Expressing one thing normally while talking about another

refer – v. to think of; to send for treatment

factuality – n. The quality of being actual or factual: actuality, fact, factualness, reality, truth.

exaggerated - adj. to think of or describe something as larger or greater than it really is

context – n. the situation in which something happens

1 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

3 sanction   

v.同意（某事），批准，认可；n.批准，国际制裁

参考例句：

• Prison is the best sanction against a crime like this.为遏止这类罪行，监禁手段是上策。
• Official sanction has not yet been given.尚未获得正式批准。

4 impose   

vt.把…强加于，加重…负担；征收(税款)

参考例句：

• Don't impose yourself on people who don't like you.不要硬缠着不喜欢你的人。
• I don't want to impose on you.我并不想打扰你。

5 sanctions   

批准( sanction的名词复数 )； 认可； 制裁； 约束力

参考例句：

• There was general acquiescence in the UN sanctions. 普遍默认了联合国的制裁。
• Trade sanctions were imposed against any country that refused to sign the agreement. 凡拒签该协议的国家均受到贸易制裁。

6 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

7 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

8 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。

9 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。