Hopefully
Hopefully is an adverb which means "in a hopeful manner" or, when used as a disjunct, "it is hoped". Its use as a disjunct has prompted controversy among advocates of linguistic purism or linguistic prescription.[1]
Use as a disjunct
Merriam-Webster says the disjunct sense of hopefully dates to the early 18th century and had been in fairly widespread use since at least the 1930s. Objection to this sense of the word only became widespread in the 1960s. A 1969 survey by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language of editors and writers found that at the time only around half of respondents found this usage of the word unacceptable, whereas by 1999 the figure was around 80%.[2] Merriam-Webster says that this usage is "entirely standard".[3] Before 2012, the AP Stylebook proscribed the use of "hopefully" as a disjunct.[4]
The controversy over its use is similar to those surrounding words or phrases such as "begging the question", "bemused", "nauseous", "who" vs. "whom" and the loss of the distinction between "disinterested" and "uninterested."[4] The use of "hopefully" as a disjunct is reminiscent of the usage of the German word hoffentlich ("it is to be hoped that").
References
- Kahn, John Ellison and Robert Ilson, Eds. The Right Word at the Right Time: A Guide to the English Language and How to Use It, pp. 27–29. London: The Reader's Digest Association Limited, 1985. ISBN 0276384393.
- Nunberg, Geoff (30 May 2012). "The Word 'Hopefully' Is Here To Stay, Hopefully". NPR. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
- "Hopefully". Online Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- "Are language cops losing war against 'wrongly' used words?". BBC News. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.