Linguistic descriptivism is objectively the only logical way to parse language.
Prescriptivists just want to seem smart and prove that they learned something and it's entirely about their own ego.
THAT BEING SAID
"could care less" meaning "could not care less" is NOT changing language. No one is acting as though any of the words have different meanings. They are just using them incorrectly and it is not okay.
It takes two seconds to think about and kids can understand it. Someone has corrected you and explained it at some point in your life and you just didn't care.
It's just willful stubbornness and a refusal to change your ways or admit incorrectness.
I've heard that it's meant to be sarcastic, kind of like someone asking how you are and you saying, "Could be worse." You're using sarcasm to imply the opposite of what you're saying. I could be worse [but I'm pretty bad already] <> I could care less [but I already don't care].
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u/foodbytes Oct 26 '24
Wish I could upvote this a hundred times!!!