As a grandparent it is easy to conflate positiveness and reality when it comes to grandchildren. Doing so, often presents them as saints, even though their parents may disagree.
Conflate means to bring together or blend. It has been used in the English language since the mid-1500s. Many people conflate the sisters, and credit them with each other’s characteristics.
Conflate is derived from the Latin verb conflare, meaning to blow together. The prefix com (with, together) is combined with the verb flare (to blow). When two or more things are conflated by ingenuity or confusion, they are blown together, so to speak. Other English words tracing back to the Latin flare include flavour, inflate, and flatulent.
Conflate can also imply to confuse. Borden, Saskatchewan (on Highway 16 between Saskatoon and North Battleford) has been conflated with Borden, Ontario (which has a large Canadian Forces base) and Borden, Prince Edward Island (where the Confederation Bridge enters the province).
Conflate suggests things combined into a whole. Hybrid cars conflate a gas engine and an electric motor into one vehicle. Hybrid is sometimes conflated with electric-only vehicles in public perception and marketing advertising. This conflation can lead to misconceptions about the capabilities and limitations of each technology.
With the prevalence of social media, we need to be careful not to conflate fake news with real news. Streaming series often conflate documentary videos and dramatized reenactments that people may not be able to tell what is real and what is not.
When visiting with people who have a form of dementia, it is important to remember that memory confusion can lead people to conflate the past and the present in conversations. We do not have to correct them all the time unless it is absolutely essential. This could save us a lot of stress and tension.
Many conflate climate and environment even though they are different. Climate is the average course or condition of the weather at a place usually over a period of years. Environment means the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded.
Urban legends often blend fact with fiction and conflate details that are not necessarily related.
Historical fiction writers need to be careful not to conflate items from one historical era with another. The historical fiction writers I enjoy reading spend years doing the research needed to write accurately. I remember being confused when one book mentioned the ringing of a grandfather clock in the Middle Ages. Grandfather clocks, also known as longcase clocks, originated in England around 1658.
A method sometimes used by lawyers in the courts, although technically dishonest, is to confuse juries with deliberate conflation.
In the United States, and in some respect in Canada, legal migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees should be differentiated from illegal migrants and people trafficking, but sadly at times have been conflated. It has become impossible to have a sensible conversation about immigration without emotions getting in the way and accusations of racism being tossed about. Racism is often conflated with so many other issues that anything mentioning a person’s colour can be taken as racist.
According to the TheFlyingFrisbee website here is a list of common conflations: elections and democracy, free speech and impartiality, the law and fascism, justice and equality, journalism and activism, opinions and facts, the state and society, education and indoctrination, morality and religion, cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, rights and privileges.
There is one example when conflating is acceptable and that is when referring to my grand-daughters. They are close to perfect. LOL
Columnist John Kreutzwieser loves to research words and writes this weekly Word Wisdom column for Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com. He has an interest in the usage, origin, and relevance of words for society today. Greek and Latin form the basis of many words, with ancient Hebrew shedding light on word usage.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to [email protected] . Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
