# The meaning of atonality



## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

In the recent threads about atonality the question was raised whether the term atonality actually was legitimate or not.

This reminded me of a short story by Kafka:
A long time ago, the ceremonies at the Temple kept being interrupted by a group of leopards. The leopards rushed into the Temple, caused all kinds of commotion, drank empty all the cups and then rushed off again. When the priests finally figured that they wouldn't be able to prevent this from happening, they declared it part of the ceremony and moved on.

Regardless of whether atonality ever had a true or original meaning or whether it was a mis-nomer from the start, it has long since acquired a meaning through what one might call common use. Even if this meaning is somewhat fuzzy, it is nonetheless precise enough for said common use.

The meanings of words are established either autocratically (definitions) or democratically (common use). To deny the meaning that a word has acquired through common use, even if it was mis-use, tells of anti-democratic leanings.

Until some years ago, there was a certain grammatical construction in the German language that even many native speakers struggled with. In everyday conversation, many used a wrong form. But the use of this wrong form became so prevalent that eventually, the people in charge declared it to be correct as well. It was the most sensible thing to do.


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