March 24, 2009

It happened in 'O3 and I never even knew it

Here's one for my Cultural Erosion file -- the subtle yet powerful revision of one of the most common words in the English language.

"Marriage".

Did you know that in 2003 some popular dictionaries in the U.S. began including same-sex relationships under the definition of this word?

My advice to any parent who isn't ready to confront the issue of homosexuality with their young and curious learners is to make sure your dictionary was published before '03.

Otherwise, you may be getting the "how can two guys be married to each other" question long before you're ready to answer it.

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