• intensely_human@lemm.ee
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    15 hours ago

    As an autistic I resolve this in my head by reminding myself that words can have different meanings.

    For example
    (“How are you?” -> “I’m fine how are you?” -> “Doing well, thanks”)
    actually means
    (“hello” -> “hello”)

    It’s code. The meaning is precise, and it’s not a false question. It’s a symbolic question.

    It’s an equivalent meaning in the same way that:
    (“hola” -> “hola”)
    means the same thing as
    (“hello” -> “hello”)

    English is, therefore, not just one language. English is many languages using the same set of words.