A Relatable Tale of Semantic Drift

by Peter Sipes

A Relatable Tale of Semantic Drift

Definitions Examples Why this change may bother people but shouldn't. Just another anecdote

Defining relatable

Able to be told or narrated; suitable for relating

Defining relatable

Able to be told or narrated; suitable for relating Able to be brought into relation with something else; capable of being related or connected (to something)

Defining relatable

Able to be told or narrated; suitable for relating Able to be brought into relation with something else; capable of being related or connected (to something) That can be related to (relate v. 9); with which one can identify or empathize

Defining relatable

Able to be told or narrated; suitable for relating Able to be brought into relation with something else; capable of being related or connected (to something) That can be related to (relate v. 9); with which one can identify or empathize
OED, online version March 2012, retrieved 4 April 2012
http://www.oed.com.rwlib.neiu.edu:2048/view/Entry/161804?redirectedFrom=relatable#eid

The Data

Not a very common word Peaks at about 0.00001300% in 1980

Source: Google Ngram viewer

http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph? content=relatable&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=0&smoothing=3

Definition 1

Able to be told or narrated; suitable for relating directly or indirectly, it is relatable and describable in its terms.
N.F.S. Ferr, The Universal Word: A theology for a universal faith, Westminster Press, 1969

"On the whole relatable subjects be gradually replaced by general vocational subjects during phase."
Bulletin of the [MA] Board of Education, Issue 27, 1916

Definition 2

Able to be brought into relation with something else "and substantively relatable to correspondingly relevant ideas in the abstract sense"
D.P. Ausbel et al, Educational Psychology: A cognitive view, Holt, Reinhart and Winston, 1978.

Definition 3

That can be related to (relate v. 9); with which one can identify or empathize

Definition 3

That can be related to (relate v. 9); with which one can identify or empathize Feeling uncomfortable about it

Definition 3

That can be related to (relate v. 9); with which one can identify or empathize Feeling uncomfortable about it Note quotes The research indicated that boys saw teachers as more directive, while girls saw them as more relatable.
Theory into Practice, 1965

Definition 3

That can be related to (relate v. 9); with which one can identify or empathize Feeling uncomfortable about it Note quotes "These are the kind of questions that go into the development of' 'relatable' characters in a screenplay."
Screenwriting for Teens, 2006

Definition 3

Having it both ways

Definition 3

Having it both ways "Carey can cover that. It's not relatable."
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Definition 3

Having it both ways "Carey can cover that. It's not relatable." let's concentrate a little less on this mob stuff It's not relatable.
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Definition 3

Having it both ways "Carey can cover that. It's not relatable." let's concentrate a little less on this mob stuff It's not relatable. Take a hidden camera in. Click. I love it. That's relatable.
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Both ways?!

Definition 3

Having it both ways "Carey can cover that. It's not relatable." let's concentrate a little less on this mob stuff It's not relatable. Take a hidden camera in. Click. I love it. That's relatable.
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Definition 3

The smoking gun

Definition 3

The smoking gun "Cambridge was hired, after all, to make the Star more relatable, which means people will be able to relate to it more."
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Definition 3

The smoking gun "Cambridge was hired, after all, to make the Star more relatable, which means people will be able to relate to it more." "It's a Californian word, I think."
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Definition 3

The smoking gun "Cambridge was hired, after all, to make the Star more relatable, which means people will be able to relate to it more." "It's a Californian word, I think." "In the six months since he'd been here, I'd heard him use it maybe four hundred times."
Andrew Klavan, The Trapdoor, 1988.

Definition 3

There was another definition?

Definition 3

There was another definition? Is Christian music relatable?

Point/Counterpoint, The Oklahoma Daily, 22 Jan 2012

Why this may bother you

Definitions 1 and 2 use the -able suffix transitively

Why this may bother you

Definitions 1 and 2 use the -able suffix transitively

I can relate this tale. I have a relatable tale. I can relate these phenomena. The experiment has relatable phenomena.

Why this may bother you

Definitions 1 and 2 use the -able suffix transitively

I can relate this tale. I have a relatable tale. I can relate these phenomena. The experiment has relatable phenomena.

Definition 3 uses the -able suffix intransitively

Why this may bother you

Definitions 1 and 2 use the -able suffix transitively

I can relate this tale. I have a relatable tale. I can relate these phenomena. The experiment has relatable phenomena.

Definition 3 uses the -able suffix intransitively

I can relate to Christian music. Christian music is relatable.

but shouldn't.

Other English words use -able intransitively

but shouldn't.

Other English words use -able intransitively

I can rely on my car. I have a reliable car. I can depend on you to arrive You are dependable.

but shouldn't.

Other English words use -able intransitively

I can rely on my car. I have a reliable car. I can depend on you to arrive You are dependable.

-able suffix comes from Latin, which also uses it intransitively (by their definition)

but shouldn't.

Other English words use -able intransitively

I can rely on my car. I have a reliable car. I can depend on you to arrive You are dependable.

-able suffix comes from Latin, which also uses it intransitively (by their definition)
Pecuni fungi possum. Pecunia est fungibilis.
money.abl enjoy.inf can.1S money.nom is enjoyable.nom

but shouldn't.

Other English words use -able intransitively

I can rely on my car. I have a reliable car. I can depend on you to arrive You are dependable.

-able suffix comes from Latin, which also uses it intransitively (by their definition)
Pecuni fungi possum. Pecunia est fungibilis.
money.abl enjoy.inf can.1S money.nom is enjoyable.nom

Money is fungible. (Its own bit of semantic drift.)

Just another anecdote

Will relatable's new definition alter the definition of relate?

Just another anecdote

Will relatable's new definition alter the definition of relate? We're already there.

Just another anecdote

Will relatable's new definition alter the definition of relate? We're already there. After reading a slave narrative, students were asked to relate the story.

Just another anecdote

Will relatable's new definition alter the definition of relate? We're already there. After reading a slave narrative, students were asked to relate the story. Most couldn't.

Just another anecdote

Will relatable's new definition alter the definition of relate? We're already there. After reading a slave narrative, students were asked to relate the story. Most couldn't. One related his experience with a medical problem.

Just another anecdote

Will relatable's new definition alter the definition of relate? We're already there. After reading a slave narrative, students were asked to relate the story. Most couldn't. One related his experience with a medical problem. One student suggested the book had a typo and should have read relate to the story.