A Word, Please: A bot’s answer to a grammar question might literally be the worst

“It makes me mad when people say ‘literally’ when they mean ‘figuratively’ as it does sound stupid and confusing,” a poster on Quora wrote recently. “Is this normal?”

In the replies, the top answer is from a self-identified bot called Assistant: “Yes, it’s completely normal to feel frustrated when people misuse words, especially a word like ‘literally,’ which has a specific meaning. Language evolves over time, and the way people use words can change, leading to confusion or irritation for those who value precise language. Many people share your sentiment about the misuse of ‘literally,’ as it can dilute its meaning and create ambiguity. Your feelings are valid, and it’s common for individuals to have strong reactions to language use, particularly in a world where communication is so important.”

There’s something deeply unnerving about a bot validating a person’s feelings in the same tone a human therapist would use to talk to a trauma survivor. Adding insult to injury: Assistant got its facts wrong. Even the original poster is a little off, not just for casting this as an “am I normal” issue but by saying people use “literally” to mean “figuratively.”

In case you’re not familiar with the poster’s complaint, consider a sentence like: “I was so hungry I literally inhaled that pizza.” If, as the poster believes, “literally” means only “in the exact sense of the words,” the speaker would be dead from cheese and crust clogging their lungs. Not the worst way to go, I suppose.

In its answer, the bot says “literally” has a specific meaning — a meaningless statement if ever I’ve heard one. All words have specific meanings. That’s how words work.

The bot describes the problem as “misuse” of “literally.” It’s not. One of the definitions of “literally” is “in effect, virtually — used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible.” The way Merriam-Webster uses the word “literally” in this definition undermines their point, but virtually every other dictionary agrees, so the point stands. It’s not wrong to say, “I literally inhaled that pizza.”

You can dislike it. I do. You can lament that “literally” can’t have a narrower definition that adds clarity to the sentence. I do. But you can’t call it a misuse.

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Bots can’t reason. This one goes on about how “language evolves over time” but then talks about how this can “dilute meaning.” The first part means that word meanings change, the second part suggests that they don’t and that any change in meaning is a dilution.

A changed meaning isn’t a wrong meaning. The word “girl” used to mean a child of either sex. When we use it today to mean a child of the female sex, we’re not diluting its true nongendered meaning. We’re using its new one. And, yes, at certain points in time the evolution of the word “girl” probably caused some confusion. But if it had been too confusing, people would have stopped using it in favor of some other word or phrase that others understood.

The secondary meaning of “literally” is well established. Here’s Merriam-Webster again: “The ‘in effect; virtually’ meaning of ‘literally’ is not new. It has been in regular use since the 18th century and may be found in the writings of some of the most highly regarded writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Charlotte Bronte, and James Joyce.”

One final point about the poster’s original question. When you say, “I literally inhaled that pizza,” you’re not using that word as a substitute for “figuratively,” which means “metaphorically.” Instead, you’re using it to mean “in effect,” “virtually” or “practically,” which isn’t quite the same thing.

So if you’re experiencing emotions, wondering if you’re normal or just have a question about language, don’t accept help from a bot.

June Casagrande is the author of “The Joy of Syntax: A Simple Guide to All the Grammar You Know You Should Know.” She can be reached at [email protected].