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[–] 4 points 34 minutes ago

The issue is the fact that the opposite action of locking is called unlocking and not something like delocking.

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  • [–] 2 points 16 minutes ago
    [–] 4 points 2 hours ago

    Redminds of the German "umfahren" (run over) which is the exact opposit of "umfahren" (drive around). (First is pronounced with a tiny pause after the second letter; the other is not.)

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  • [–] 6 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

    You are able to undo the locking. It's almost like reading comprehension is shit nowadays.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 hours ago

    could be both

    maybe it's a homonym

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  • [–] 3 points 7 hours ago

    I'm pretty sure one of those has a hyphen

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  • [–] 8 points 11 hours ago*

    Depends on emphasis. Said with normal stress on the first syllable is "able to be unlocked".

    But if you pronounce it with extra emphasis on both of the first two syllables with a bit of a pause between, I think most people would think "not able to be locked". Very context dependent though

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  • [–] 4 points 12 hours ago

    Highly illockable

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  • [–] 9 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

    At the end, both are the same.

    You end up with something that isn't locked.

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  • [–] 15 points 18 hours ago (3 children)

    making up the rules as we go

    You seem unaware at how, while French is steered by a committee of linguists, English is steered by a mob of autofellatic influencerati fame-whores, all looking for differentiation and trends to manufacture. So fetch.

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  • [–] 7 points 18 hours ago

    The Académie Française is absolutely not a "committee of linguists". They're a bunch of rich conservatives who are way too high on nationalism, and they are infamous for going against the consensus of linguists (who they supposedly consult).

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  • [–] 6 points 15 hours ago*

    I would say "non-lockable" means can't be locked, and "unlockable" means can be changed from locked to unlocked, implying also being lockable.

    But to answer the question, yes we are making up language as we go along. For one thing we've always done that, but recently the trend has accelerated as people strive to reduce complex ideas to simple, overgeneralized slang to avoid having to think as much or do as much thumb-typing.

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  • [–] 20 points 20 hours ago (1 child)

    Let me present to you a genre-classic from Germany:

    umFAHREN -> to drive around something or somebody.

    UMfahren -> to drive against something or somebody in a way it/they fall over.

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  • [–] 12 points 18 hours ago
    [–] 6 points 16 hours ago

    I would never use that word in either context, neither one is coherent. I would say, Picard, where is Beverly Crusher! She must shackle me, before I am overcome!

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  • [–] 55 points 1 day ago (1 child)
  • [–] 46 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    Unlock-able versus un-lockable

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  • [–] 5 points 18 hours ago (1 child)

    Both. It is already been locked and therefore cannot be "locked"; simultaneously because it is locked, it is able to be unlocked.

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  • [–] 1 point 16 minutes ago (1 child)

    because it is locked, it is able to be unlocked.

    I think they're saying that "unlockable" could mean that its not possible to lock said door so no, not already locked

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  • [–] 33 points 1 day ago (14 children)

    Ahh, I've been speaking english for over a decade, and I still sometimes get caught up with these and say the opposite thing of what I want

    Like the whole thing of flammable and inflammable meaning the same thing.. just why?

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  • [–] 4 points 18 hours ago (1 child)

    Also "off" meaning both off and on

    The alarm went off (the alarm started) The light went off (the light suddenly stopped producing light)

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    [–] 2 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

    It's the same thing with “unsweet,” which has apparently become the universal term at food establishments when you want unsweetened tea. I’m in the American South, so I encounter this constantly.

    But what the hell is “unsweet”? What does that even mean? Did they sweeten it and then somehow take the sweetness back out? Was it accomplished through evaporation? Reverse osmosis? Some sort of industrial-scale anti-sugar process?

    “Unsweet” isn't a word.

    So when I order, I specifically say, “unsweetened tea,” and the server inevitably responds, “Unsweet?”

    “Gotcha.”

    No. You got nothing. I said unsweetened.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

    Words are often shortened. It reduces the number of vowels and makes communication quicker and easier. Do you also have an issue with these?:

    math
    gym
    bike
    fridge
    TV
    ad
    lab
    info
    photo

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  • [–] 1 point 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 child)

    I'm not even sure how to respond to this nonsense. Unsweet isn't a shortening of unsweetened.

    Also, TV is an abbreviation.

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  • [–] 4 points 18 hours ago
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