I Surrender, Hopefully
For years, I have opposed the misuse of "hopefully", but I'm giving up and going with the times.
One last time, I am going to insist that “hopefully” does not mean “I hope that. . . ”. “Hopefully” is the adverbial form of “hopeful”, and it means “acting in a hopeful manner”. When you say “Hopefully, I will go to the library tomorrow,” you are stating that you are going to the library tomorrow, and you are going to do full of hope.
But we both know that isn’t what you mean. You mean that you hope that you will get to go to the library tomorrow. You’re just saying it like you are a knucklehead who doesn’t care about the English language. You’re just saying it like 99% of people in America would, and I am saying that I’m not going to let you make me wince anymore.
I know that language is a river, not a mountain made of rocks to be hurled at those who misuse it. The river has currents and you can only paddle against them for so long before it’s best to just go along.
For years I have paddled against using “hopefully” in the way most Americans use it. I have avoided using it that way, and, in my brash youth, I would occasionally correct the people who use it . . . that way. I am hopeful that I will not choose to use the word improperly, but I accept that my refusal is a quirk, not a source of superiority.
The argument is futile, and the number of pedantic asses standing with me has dwindled. I just now did a touch of research and learned that Merriam-Webster quietly waved the white flag in 1983.
The language is not mine, it is ours. I’ve happily accepted the use of “they” as a single pronoun, because doing so serves the noble and kind purpose of helping people feel included. I’ve accepted new words and idioms enthusiastically. I don’t consider myself a stick in the mud, or even an especially eager curmudgeon, but I guess I have been out of the norm in a bad way on the issue of “hopefully”.
I hope that this gesture of good faith and humility will not give hope to those who misuse “literally”, though.