The word in all fairness and aspects must be one of the most used and misused word or term as far as the English language and dialect is concerned. From the dictionary and the correct meaning, the word means something absolute, actual and with no exaggeration or fabrication of whatever sort. It means that when one uses the word literally, then the fellow must give the exact description of what he or she intends to do or say without any euphemism or sugarcoating of whichever sort. In this modern day and age, it is common to hear and listen to people spew a few words in a sentence and the process, the word and term would be featured therein. In a way, it is no longer clear or apparent what it means because if one speaker or the other needs to make a sentence complete, one would spring the word literally.
In a way, it has been misused and overused to the extent that it has lost its worth and usefulness (Coser, 19). Young learners and speakers of the English language are surely set to be misguided and misled if they follow the current semantic and grammatical disposition of this current day and age speakers. Thus, it has been more of a common thing and pattern in speech for people to use the word even in situations where it is least necessary.
It is imperative to note and mention that with the current goings and trend; it would be difficult to assess the initial and correct meaning if the word literally. This is to an extent where the word has lost its taste and value because it is at times used erroneously in the sentences and speech. In all fairness and aspects, it makes the English language, speech and dialect lose its poetic and figurative tone. There are several words that could instead be used instead of overtly repeating the same word “ ” in each and every sentence thus making it smack of silliness or gross linguistic error. For instance, during a conversation between sports commentators or anchors, one would be heard saying, “He is literally the strongest defender in the world,” then the other would easy reply, “yeah literally.”. This conversation is just a sample of a conversation that might last for close to an hour. One could thus gauge and imagine how many times the word would be used!
Thus, at this point, I would submit the word literally has been misused and overused and a suitable replacement ought to be embraced to ensure that the speech in English does not lose its tone, taste and touch (Vold, 6). This is to say that the word literally has and is likely to lose its literal meaning if the true grammarians and the academic audience does not stand out to defend the purity of the language and the dialect at large.
Subsequently, the meaning and the taste of the word has been mucked for a long period that it has reached a point whereby it has distorted its original and authentic meaning. The continued overuse of the language has been misleading, tedious and monotonous and thus made the speakers of the word seem unnatural and uninteresting to converse with. It does not matter who they, but whoever one uses the word, it is not poetic or fun anymore.
Work cited
Coser, Lewis A. "Continuities in the Study of linguistics (2012).
Vold, George B. "Theoretical use of words and their meanings." (2011).
