It’s hard to explain why some words are chosen over others that can convey same or similar meanings. For example, it’s amazing how almost everyone describes the US elections outcome as a “repudiation” - right from US media to British podcasters to our very own English teacher Shashi Tharoor - virtually everybody. Another word is “application” which somehow I heard very commonly used in test-match commentaries about a decade or so ago. Now, to be honest, and to be fair to the language and its speakers, it may just be me not having noticed those words before. I am just an armchair linguist, after all.
All human languages have somehow ended up with multiple words to convey same meanings. It presents both a challenge in being aware, and an opportunity in how one can describe same things in many ways. Most of our literary craft is based on the latter, which is considered artistic and a genius of some sort.
But some words get hyped up for certain descriptions in strange ways. It’s not like those exact descriptions didn’t present themselves before. Yet on that one occasion the word seems to have fit and spread, or just caught on, or sort of went viral, as they say.
Language, its colloquial form, does evolve. And that partially explains some trends, but that’s more generational. My intrigue is about certain words being chosen by everyone en masse. Perhaps people are too lazy to play with words and go along with words others use. Most don’t care until their message is conveyed as intended. And following a precedent is safe.
Makes me wonder - is there some element of this in how LLMs write? After all, their learning is based on precedents. Not sure what their creativity, if any exists, is based on, though. They clearly don't seem to have the urge to be unique or novel, unless forced to with a hard nudge and enough money!
Curious how others see this, or see this at all, or think there’s nothing to see here!
