Are we just making up language rules as we go?
Yes, throughout history, in fact.
And to answer the meme’s question it can have either definition based on the context of usage.
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.)
Even better is “Haare wachsen lassen”. One meaning is letting your hair grow, the other is waxing your hair. Pronounced exactly the same
Unlock-able versus un-lockable
Unlockable ass-lock
That’s mental bracketing for you.
TIL the thing I do when I’m trying to understand an ambiguous sentence has a name
The issue is the fact that the opposite action of locking is called unlocking and not something like delocking.
Sokath, his eyes uncoverable.
Curse you! 🙃
You are able to undo the locking. It’s almost like reading comprehension is shit nowadays.
Why can it not mean unable to be locked?
Because people don’t generally use it that way and language changes and evolves based largely on how it is used.
un-lockable implies it is unable to be locked.
unlock-able implies that it is able to be unlocked.
It’s a homonym.
At the end, both are the same.
You end up with something that isn’t locked.
I want my front door to be unlock-able, I don’t want it to be un-lockable.
The first one isn’t locked unless you unlock it.
could be both
maybe it’s a homonym
Literally yes, we are.
Cause language is a toolkit to communicate ideas, and a toolkit frozen in glass is a useless toolkit.
You need to swap out that hammer when it starts getting damaged, or put back a screwdriver when you find out you need it again, or add new tools when you find that the tools you have now aren’t fit to purpose.
And sure, there’s some loose screws at the bottom of the bag, but they don’t harm anything, and very occasionally they come in useful.
Unconceivable.
You keep saying that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.
Why would unlockable mean able to be unlocked?
unlock-able = able to be unlocked
un-lockable = unable to be locked
Thank you. I feel dumb now lol
no need for that, language is weird
Contranyms are fun.
Non-lockable feels like the right term.
‘Un-’ directly implies undoing, an action. ‘Non-’ implies a status, a non-possibility.
That’s my two cents.
Illockable
Highly illockable
