Is the word "actually" really just slang for "in actuality"?

Actually, haha once it’s recognized in dictionaries and such it becomes a real word. The language is constantly evolving. That’s why it’s so hard for most of us to read Chaucer as it was written. Damn.

Welcome to the collective.

I don’t mean this to be a dick answer, but I don’t think you have the authority to say what is a ‘real word’ and what isn’t. The dictionary isn’t a list of only the real words in the language, it’s a list of word definitions/parts of speech/pronunciations. Languages change; new words fade in, old words fade out, and words evolve.

Actually, actually is a word.

“First Known Use of ACTUALLY
15th century”

Merriam Webster

Welcoem to the collective.

@ifos – you are wrong. You are like the millions of mere mortals who think that slang is an acceptable part of proper and concise English rather than a lazy way for speech. I also use slang and abbreviations but only to conform to the minions who use improper English.

@marinelife – I believe it was the 15th century that started the whole slang match, in the first place.

@actuallery If you don’t like the evolution of language, please revert to grunting and painting on cave walls and leave the more enlightened folks alone.

And here I thought mortals were pretty complex.
@actuallery and @jfos Could you guys ease up on the snark? This is a fun question!

@actuallery
I wouldn’t say slang is the right word. How could there have been an 18th century word for ‘solar panel’? Is ‘solar panel’ slang? I would say no.

Yes, people do use lazy slang, especially online or in text messages… but as far as new words, it’s unarguable. If you feel so strongly, you could just eliminate the words from your vocabulary that you don’t see fit to use. You can’t really control what other people say, though. Have you ever read Orwell’s 1984?

Edit: Welcome.

@Jillthetooth – I’m having fun. Is the word “snarking” a real word, or did you just make it up?

@ifos – I dare you to use a typo in a Question and see if it gets submitted.

@macbean – urgh!

@actuallery : Ooh…good one. It’s used here a lot, and it’s cute, so I like to say.it. Not as much fun as saying “perplexed”, though, I want an oppotunity to say that more often.

Here’s the etymology for actually.

(Personally, I’m not fond of the word, at least when it is used to start off a statement. It sounds like the implied, “you dummy”.)

@Pied_Pfeffer : Great link!
I try to avoid starting off a sentence with “you dummy” cuz I’m little and everybody else is big and scary.

@Pied Piper – In Actuality, to start off a sentence with “actually” is also poor grammar, actually.

All that “acking”...sounds like lugies are being hawled up all over the place! (Or as @actuallery might prefer, phlegm is being expectorated…

Can you prove it’s not a real word? You have not given any information to back up your statement.

@misstrikcy – Ummm!!

ha ha love your answer..!
ok then…. So until such proof lands with the collective i’ll keep ‘actually’ in my vocabulary..

One person’s slang is another’s perfect communication. It’s a bitter pill for many linguist and grammar purists to swallow, but not only does language evolve, it must evolve. Look how far we’ve come since grunts.

Bravo, @MacBean !!!

@actuallery How do you decide what is “real” language and what isn’t? Language, in particular the English language, is ever-changing. Take the sentence “I need to upload my digital pictures from the convention of genetic scientists to my blog” wouldn’t mean a damn thing to people 100 years ago. Language has evolved so that people understand exactly what that means, making the words, imho, completely real. With all due respect, it seems like you’re stuck on something that has no basis in reality.

@Likeradar – I’ve used up all my questions as I wanted to ask “Is language evolving too much that eventually we’ll all be talking with nonsense words and foreigners will no longer be able to understand common English?” or something as such or similar..

@actuallery I think the point you’re missing is the idea that “common English” changes. New vocabulary comes into use, and many people stop using certain words. When’s the last time you heard someone say “ye” instead of “you”? Is everyone who’s saying “you” using nonsense words? Of course not. The language has evolved, and English language learners evolve along with it.

@Likerator -Would a pre-teen child know what a bicycle is if they had never heard the word spoken or used in a sentence?

“Pre-teen”? What an absurd word. Totally made up. Just like every other word you and I use.

You are arguing an absurd point. Maybe someone else wants to engage with you, but I’m going the route of @jeruba in your other thread and dropping out of this one.

In actuality, I think we have all gone “off topic” and the Question is now moot.