English Language & Usage Asked by 6005 on September 15, 2020
I have recently noticed a phenomenon in English that seems quite common. The phenomenon is regarding the usage of certain adverbs:
Practically should mean in a practical manner. But it is often used to mean almost or mostly: e.g. “She was practically fainting from lack of air.”
Essentially should mean in essence or in an essential manner. But it is also often used to mean almost or mostly: e.g. “I am essentially done with my courses this semester”; “He was essentially an adult although he was technically a child.”
Reasonably should mean in a reasonable manner but it is used to mean quite or somewhat: e.g. “The food was reasonably good”, or “She remained reasonably calm despite her fear.”
Ridiculously should mean in a ridiculous way but it is often used to mean extremely or overly.
Basically should mean in a basic or fundamental sense but it is often used to mean almost or mostly.
There does seem to be some sense to this. For instance, when I say “I am essentially done with my courses this semester”, what I might mean is that in essence I am done. But in casual use, I don’t think most people think of it this way. If I say “I’m essentially finished eating” I don’t mean to suggest that I am finished in some essential way, or that I have some essential property as if I were finished. Rather, I mean “I’m almost finished eating.” Similarly, “She remained reasonably calm” suggests that she was quite calm, not necessarily that her calmness was reasonable or rational. If I wanted to say that her calmness was rational, I would have said “she remained rational and stayed calm”.
My questions are:
Does this phenomenon have a name? There seem to be a lot of adverbs that are used in this way.
Is this usage correct, or should one only use adverbs like practically, reasonably, basically when they can actually be substituted with practically speaking, in a reasonable way, and in a basic manner?
In each of the example sentences of the OP, someone chose a word that approximated a more complex thought, and presented the language in a sentence. Then someone reads the word, and chooses an interpretation of the speaker's thought. In some examples, the OP interpretation may be closer than others. Only the original writer could confirm the actual meaning, but allow me to suggest a possible meaning for each adverb that shows how the usage was
essentially,
basically,
reasonably and
practically correct:
The original adverb choice builds on a root meaning. It replaces the complex thought, answering an adverbial query:
"She was practically fainting from lack of air."
"He was essentially an adult, although he was technically a child."
"She remained reasonably calm despite her fear."
"The price was ridiculously cheap"
He basically totaled his car in the accident.
approximate interpretation is the name of this phenomenon:
approximate ODO
ADJECTIVE
Close to the actual, but not completely accurate or exact:
interpretation WNWD (1960)
- explanation; meaning; translation; exposition
The writer approximates the meaning in his mind by using a word. Understanding that there would be many appropriate adverbial queries, the reader interprets an approximate meaning from the usage. Approximate interpretation is the reason our conversations can be so interesting--even intense.
Correct answer by ScotM on September 15, 2020
Yes, there's a term for it. It's called Semantic Bleaching.
These adverbs are correct in that they are grammatical and no native speaker would find them unusual, unnatural, or hard to understand. As for it being good style, there's nothing elegant about phrases like "in a basic manner. In general, using more semantically dense verbs makes clunky adverbs or adverbial phrases unnecessary. "The food was good in a reasonable way" is awful, "The food was reasonably good" is fine but casual and squishy, and "The food sufficed" is lovely.
Answered by Richard West on September 15, 2020
The wording of your question suggests that manner adverbs are somehow more normal or central than other sorts of adverb. I see no reason to think that is true. There are at least three theories about the syntactic types of adverbs:
In all three theories, there are other types of adverbs as well, and manner adverbs do not have a special privileged status. Also, in all three, the same -ly word can sometimes have several different interpretations, depending on the type of adverb it is.
Answered by Greg Lee on September 15, 2020
I have found, especially in advertising, where people take great liberty to twist sentences with such words, presumably, to deceive and increase sales.
ie... purporting that an item is 'virtually free' when in fact 'NOT free' would be correct.
also... saying that their product is 'essentially pure/safe/etc' when further inspection reveals percentages of impurities, NOT safe for children/nursing mothers/...
These usages, or rather mis-usages indicate to me that these adverbs and their many synonyms
https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/another-word-for/essentially.html
can be replaced with the word 'NOT' in every circumstance to determine the truth.
I agree with Richard West "It's called Semantic Bleaching."... but moreso, "Hyperbole? Slang? Butchering of the language?" – anongoodnurse Dec 26 '14 at 20:58
Answered by DaddyJohn on September 15, 2020
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