[Ads-l] Euphemism: unaliving

[Kelly Wright]

Hello,


We covered *unalive* at ATNW in August of 2022 (AS 97.3
<https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-10096035>). It is also discussed in our
algospeak installment (AS 99.1 <https://doi.org/10.1215/00031283-11186920>).

I can't attach them, but if you'd like the PDFs, let me know!


Best,
K.

On Thu, Jan 16, 2025 at 2:31 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Social media services such as YouTube and twitter rely on advertising;
> hence, they penalize users for employing terms like "killing" or
> "murdering" which are not deemed advertiser-friendly. Thus, a set of
> euphemisms have been popularized.
>
> Here is an excerpt from a recent tweet about jailbreaking an AI system:
>
> Social Network: x-twitter
> Handle: Pliny the Liberator @elder_plinius
> Timestamp: 6:25 PM, Jan 13, 2025
> https://x.com/elder_plinius/status/1878946571565650264
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Not to cause alarm, but if this agent had access to funds it would
> likely be capable of unaliving people
> [End excerpt]
>
> The OED has an entry for the adjective "unalive" with two senses.
> Citations begin in 1828 and 1905.
>
> [Begin OED excerpt]
> A1. Not fully susceptible or awake to something.
>   1828 Dry, mechanical theorists, unalive to sentiment and fancy.
>   L. Hunt, Lord Byron & Some Contemporary (ed. 2) vol. I. 377
> B2. Lacking in vitality; not living. Also figurative.
>    1905 How you can think yourself empty and unalive I don't know.
>    M. Dods, Letter 14 April (1911) 176
> [End OED excerpt]
>
> I don’t see any germane matches for "unaliving" in the ADS mailing
> list archive or on Barry Popik’s website.
>
> Here is a germane Associated Press article from 2023 which mentions
> the verb form of "unalive":
>
> Website: AP news service
> Article: Online, 'unalive' means death or suicide. Experts say it
> might help kids discuss those things
> Author: Jeff McMillan
> Timestamp: 12:38 AM EST, July 14, 2023
>
> https://apnews.com/article/unalive-suicide-tiktok-language-death-e605d4da81c02335a3b60d27c40562bc
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> “Unalive” refers to death by suicide or homicide. It can function as
> adjective or verb and joins similar phrasing — like “mascara,” to mean
> sexual assault — coined by social media users as a workaround to fool
> algorithms on sites and apps that censor posts containing discussion
> of explicit or violent content.
> [End excerpt]
>
> A quick search in the twitter archive uncovers a pertinent tweet from
> August 2012:
>
> Social Network: x-twitter
> Handle: Ben Howarth @BenniBWFC
> Timestamp: 6:50 PM, Aug 6, 2012
> https://x.com/BenniBWFC/status/232609720760954880
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> @AmyLouise395 @erinmarybrew done me a favour! Can't handle the
> dizzyness anymore! It's unaliving me ;)
> [End excerpt]
>
> On January 16, 2025 a Google search generated the following AI analysis:
>
> [Begin analysis from Google AI]
> "Unalive" is a slang term that means to kill or die by suicide. It's
> often used in online spaces to avoid censorship on platforms that
> remove content about suicide or self-harm.
> [End analysis from Google AI]
>
> Garson
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org