• Evkob
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    1 year ago

    This is admittedly off-topic, but the hardcore descriptivist in me can’t help but speak out. Feel free to ignore!

    “Font” is widely colloquially accepted as a synonym for “typeface”. I’d wager that for most people (outside of graphic designers or technologically-inclined folk), “font” is more likely to be understood than “typeface”. What is the purpose of language if not communicating ideas? Being understood is, for me at least, more important than pedantic correctness.

    Plus, language evolves, just as humans do. If it didn’t, we’d have reserved “typeface” as a word for the design of cast or engraved blocks used in printing. Would you agree with a prescriptivist saying we shouldn’t use the word “typeface” in computing, since the text is made from pixels and not a block stamping ink?

    Thanks all for coming to my TED Talk.