An appreciation of “heresy”
To speak of the English language is to speak of something that’s less a tongue and more a sort of verbal headcheese. The simplest of concepts have dozens of terms to choose from, and even the source which prescripivists habitually cite only delays its assimilation of new phrases due to the constraints of researching etymology and printing new editions. Yet, both despite and as a symptom of this Charibdic state, there’s no simple and good phrase for describing when someone’s wrong about that which properly, descriptively, cannot be mistaken.
Certainly, “wrong” is incorrect. By definition, in English, there is no wrong; we have no Joyo list, no Académie française, and the only “wrong” is in the mind of the reader.
However, still, that indescribable feeling persists, whenever one sees:
- Playing as Ge○er in A○E3
- Wearing white after Labor Day
- “Fanservice” as any skimpy clothing
- Inversely, only skimpy clothing as “fanservice”
- Ketchup on a hot dog
- G-Savi○ur
- A class rep who isn’t in glasses
- People who buy licenced headbands, but never even that series’ comics
- A P○D who shows up to party with a greatsword
- Kanji stickers on a car, but it’s a Do○ge
- People who translate a song by ear and then don’t revise it when the CD comes out
No matter which of these occurs, there’s that same feeling, burning on one’s forehead. “This isn’t right, but it’s something that tautologically can’t be wrong.” While the implications of the term “heresy” are certainly stronger than that currently, suggesting more burning at the stake and less awkward silence,
I see no other word that can be reformed into such a concept; thus, I can do naught but use it in this heretical form.