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Have you noticed that some words that used to be used in the past that were once positive in connotation now are negative in the modern day society?
The most popular ones I can think of are "Excuse me?" That used to be a proper way of asking someone to repeat what they said. Then overtime it became used as a way of expressing shock at a surprising piece of news. Now it has become threatening. I almost have to laugh because of the way our language and customs change. If you say "Excuse me?" to any superior or higher authority now they will deem that extremely disrespectful. I've had to catch myself so many times from using that phrase when it was on the tip of my tongue because I know it would be taken wrongly. Another variation of that is "Excuse you?" which is deemed rude all across the board no matter how you try to put it.
Another one is "I beg your pardon?" Another popular phrase that used to be the proper way of saying "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you, please repeat that again" to what is now a very threatening and aggressive phrase to use.
Last one I can come up with is "gay". It used to be an old english word form of "Happy". But for some reason overtime, people associated gay with homosexuals. Although gay is stilled used to describe a homosexual, now it is also used in a negative connotation with the phrase "That's so gay" or "Eww. That's gay" to describe something as irritable, a misfortune, or something very cheesy and cliche.
What kinds of words and phrases can you come up with that once in the past had positive connotations but now have negative connotations attached to them?
Have you noticed that some words that used to be used in the past that were once positive in connotation now are negative in the modern day society?
The most popular ones I can think of are "Excuse me?" That used to be a proper way of asking someone to repeat what they said. Then overtime it became used as a way of expressing shock at a surprising piece of news. Now it has become threatening. I almost have to laugh because of the way our language and customs change. If you say "Excuse me?" to any superior or higher authority now they will deem that extremely disrespectful. I've had to catch myself so many times from using that phrase when it was on the tip of my tongue because I know it would be taken wrongly. Another variation of that is "Excuse you?" which is deemed rude all across the board no matter how you try to put it.
Another one is "I beg your pardon?" Another popular phrase that used to be the proper way of saying "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you, please repeat that again" to what is now a very threatening and aggressive phrase to use.
Last one I can come up with is "gay". It used to be an old english word form of "Happy". But for some reason overtime, people associated gay with homosexuals. Although gay is stilled used to describe a homosexual, now it is also used in a negative connotation with the phrase "That's so gay" or "Eww. That's gay" to describe something as irritable, a misfortune, or something very cheesy and cliche.
What kinds of words and phrases can you come up with that once in the past had positive connotations but now have negative connotations attached to them?
"REALLY?!"
Today, it is has a lot more sarcasm and negativity attached to it.
College-kid speak (co-workers), "That's SICK" to mean something is amazing or ... awesome. Another word I wish never existed.
"******" used to mean a bundle of sticks to start a fire. Not sure how it became a perjorative for a gay man. I fear it was because gay men were burned at the stake?
Have you noticed that some words that used to be used in the past that were once positive in connotation now are negative in the modern day society?
The most popular ones I can think of are "Excuse me?" That used to be a proper way of asking someone to repeat what they said. Then overtime it became used as a way of expressing shock at a surprising piece of news. Now it has become threatening. I almost have to laugh because of the way our language and customs change. If you say "Excuse me?" to any superior or higher authority now they will deem that extremely disrespectful. I've had to catch myself so many times from using that phrase when it was on the tip of my tongue because I know it would be taken wrongly. Another variation of that is "Excuse you?" which is deemed rude all across the board no matter how you try to put it.
Another one is "I beg your pardon?" Another popular phrase that used to be the proper way of saying "Excuse me" or "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you, please repeat that again" to what is now a very threatening and aggressive phrase to use.
Last one I can come up with is "gay". It used to be an old english word form of "Happy". But for some reason overtime, people associated gay with homosexuals. Although gay is stilled used to describe a homosexual, now it is also used in a negative connotation with the phrase "That's so gay" or "Eww. That's gay" to describe something as irritable, a misfortune, or something very cheesy and cliche.
What kinds of words and phrases can you come up with that once in the past had positive connotations but now have negative connotations attached to them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by picklejuice
"REALLY?!"
Today, it is has a lot more sarcasm and negativity attached to it.
It used to be just a way of stating disbelief.
I wouldn't say any of those I bolded have a negative connotation to me. It depends on the context, but I actually don't see or hear a sarcastic version too often in life (maybe just the company I keep or the areas I've spent time in). I see "excuse me" and "I beg your pardon" as things said to be polite, but maybe that's just because I'd just had the luck to not live/work among those would use those terms in a snarky, passive-aggressive sense. Excuse me, I just hear most often if someone is in someone's way or something.
I don't see "Really?" as really rude per se more so really informal and an interjection of surprise that can be anything, positive or negative, like "He won the award." "REALLY?!". I think hearing that alone (with no context) couldn't tell you whether the person was happy or upset about the person winning the award.
I wouldn't say any of those I bolded have a negative connotation to me. It depends on the context, but I actually don't see or hear a sarcastic version too often in life (maybe just the company I keep or the areas I've spent time in). I see "excuse me" and "I beg your pardon" as things said to be polite, but maybe that's just because I'd just had the luck to not live/work among those would use those terms in a snarky, passive-aggressive sense. Excuse me, I just hear most often if someone is in someone's way or something.
I don't see "Really?" as really rude per se more so really informal and an interjection of surprise that can be anything, positive or negative, like "He won the award." "REALLY?!". I think hearing that alone (with no context) couldn't tell you whether the person was happy or upset about the person winning the award.
I say I beg your pardon all the time, and have never experienced negative or abusive behavior as a result. In fact, if anything, I'd purport the root cause of interrupting rudeness comes more from tone that expression. Of course, certain phrases are simply negative. However, I think the topic of this thread simply boils down to tone.
Meh.
I'll toss one into the fray though...
"I vomited so much last night". That use to be uniform in it's negativity. But these days it seems to mean you had a great time. Mileage may vary
Special. Used to mean something that was much better than average. Now it means developmentally disabled.
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