Search

This paper is devoted to a little, but interesting word: literally. It has only been studied sporadically from a linguistic point of view, but it has for a long time aroused strong feelings and led to, sometimes fierce, debates in the public domain, where some deplore its increasing misuse as a vague intensifier. In this paper we explore the many different uses of literally, classify them, show how they came about over time and examine what their function might be in present day English. We also discuss whether literally really has such a nefarious effect on the English language or whether it serves any positive functions in ongoing discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]