If You're Understood, You're Doing It Right

Continuing from my previous post, I want to say that, regardless of how I might feel about people incorrectly using the word "impacted", it's really not my call to decide if a word is right or wrong. If you say "impacted" and everybody knows that you mean "made an impact", then that is what "impacted" means.

Too many people love to go on tirades about words being used incorrectly. They make essays and articles and books and infographics. But at the end of the day, what makes a word right or wrong? Why do you think your understanding of a word is the only valid one?

Language is an agreed upon construct. If people know what you mean, the you're doing it right. When you are a child and literally don't know language, then you have to be taught. You have to be told what is right and what is wrong. But this is because language already exists beyond you as a child need to know what is already agreed upon.

However, every generation, kids end up making their own language that they speak with one another. It's full of slang and colloquialisms. It is rife with words that do not exist in the dictionary and probably never will. But it doesn't matter because they understand each other. In this case, they understand one another, so their language is fine and effective.

This process is also why language changes every single generation. Don't bemoan or rebuke it. Just enjoy it and go with the flow. Know what people mean and we will do the same for you.