What does "the infelicities of language" mean ? Infelicities means "inappropriate and unpleasing manner or style". So, is the phrase "infelicities of language" a euphemism for curse words ? Or is the phrase a euphemism for vulgar language ? Or does the phrase "the infelicities of language" mean something other than what I have suggested ?
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1I think you've got the right idea already.– NVZ ♦Commented May 14, 2016 at 17:56
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2A quick Google shows that the phrase has been used in a variety of contexts with a variety of meanings. If you provide a specific context we can help you.– StoneyB on hiatusCommented May 14, 2016 at 18:06
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This has been addressed (as regards the stricter definition) on LinguisticsSE (see the most upvoted answers, and John Lawler's comment).– Edwin AshworthCommented May 14, 2016 at 19:05
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As Mitch says, it could be any of several things, depending on context. To his list I'd add the difficulty of saying what you mean in many cases.– Hot LicksCommented May 14, 2016 at 21:13
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A student this past term, writing about the history of dating, noted that after one of the World Wars "a lot of males were rare." I commented, "You can say that there were not a lot of males, or that males were rare, but saying a lot of males were rare suggests that people were undercooking them. I gave up marking such careless errors and infelicities here because there were just too darned many of them."– Brian DonovanCommented May 14, 2016 at 21:30
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2 Answers
It can mean many things depending on context:
awkward diction or phrasing, using words from different registers in the same sentence
questionable grammar/semantics (not outright solecisms)
blunt or jarring style (eg false parallelism or ambiguity from removing parallelism)
I wouldn't call vulgarities themselves infelicitous unless used in the middle of a poetic or formal discourse.
I believe it is used to refer to imprecise language, not adequately or clearly expressing a thought or idea, either due to the nature of language in general, or to ineptitude on the part of the speaker. Here are some examples:
Imperfect, too, in fairness - Rowling calibrated her prose carefully in "The Casual Vacancy", as if to show she could do it, but her old infelicities of language have returned. -- The lady has a past, quoted in thefreedictionary.com
Infelicities of language, whether in the spoken or written word, were identified and assailed by a great many people who seemed to believe that the English language itself was in a period of decline -- Language Topics: Essays in honour of Michael Halliday, Volume 2
Assuming that Dr. Hodge refers to what the general assembly meant, and not to any mere infelicities of language... -- The Presbyterian Review, Volume 3
