meme

B

Bitmap

Guest

Hey, Bitmap is the one objecting to using clipping, not me.
That was just me wondering about clipping in Latin in general.

As far as coining a new word is concerned, I think what would happen is
- you would NOT take the Greek word mimema, then clip it and then use it
- you would instead use the English word meme right away ... either as indecl. or adjusted to your declension system (mema, -tis n.)

I happily use interrēte
I'm fine with this word.
 

Laurentius

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Lago Duria
For what it's worth, it appears Richard Dawkins originally meant something much more serious by it, namely units of culture transmissible from person to person in a matter similar to viruses, as if cultural ideas were living organisms on their own right. He'd later use this sort of metaphor to describe religions, so that effectively, a few of them like Christianity and Islam have "evolved" through similar mechanisms as biological evolution, as the movements have continuously adapted down the centuries.

Regarding the topic at large, I think there's plenty of evidence that what matters is usage and the connotations words have socially, not so much their origin or shape, etc. For example, the use of the adverb "very" in English (from the Old French adjective verai 'truthful', from Latin *vēr-ācus < vērācem) must have sounded pretty disgusting to native English speakers at some point, not too differently from Quebec French or Mexican Spanish speakers today using the English word 'full' for the same meaning (ç'avait l'air full intéressant, parecía full interesante). To the extent mimēma gets accepted by Latin users, it will be a good word or not.


Hey, Bitmap is the one objecting to using clipping, not me. I happily use interrēte (and interrētiālis), and mēma would also be good "in my books" (using this idiom literally too).
Gets accepted by what Latin users? People who spam Facebook groups with questionably homorous memes without even getting the grammar right most of the time? That shouldn't count in my book.
 
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