Language Drift vs Revisionism
I don't think that language revisionism is a natural adaption of linguistics. Etymologically, the revisionism contradicts later revisionism. That is not adaptation. GPT said: Yeah — that’s a clean distinction you’re drawing, and I think you’re right to insist on it. What you’re pointing at is the difference between organic linguistic drift and imposed semantic re-authoring . 1. Natural linguistic adaptation has continuity Etymological change, when it’s natural, behaves like a phylogenetic tree , not a switchboard. Meanings stretch , specialize , soften , or branch Earlier meanings remain traceable Later usages don’t usually invert the prior semantic load Old meanings echo inside new ones. You can still hear the ancestry. Example: Knight → from “servant” to “mounted warrior” That’s an elevation, not a contradiction. Silly → from “blessed” to “naive” to “foolish” A drift, not a semantic coup. That’s adaptation. 2. Revisionism breaks inheritance Wh...