What's with the weird use of the word "doubt"?

[LB]

http://www.cplusplus.com/search.do?q=doubt

I see a lot of topics like "array doubt" or "inheritance doubt" or "C++ code doubt", and to me this is really strange and doesn't make sense to use the word "doubt" that way. Doesn't doubt mean you think something is not what it appears to be or what someone else says it is? "I doubt that it actually does that" for example. Why would people be doubting how C++ works? The rules are, for all intents and purposes, 'set in stone' by the standard, so it is illogical to doubt a C++ feature. Why are so many people using the word "doubt" this way? To me, a better word to use in place of "doubt" is "confusion".

[cire]

I doubt those people will be reading this.

[naraku9333]

Have you considered many of those posters are not may not be native English speakers?

[LB]

Native English speaker or not, it's still a phenomenon. If it's not native English speakers, why is this such a prevalent misconception?

[z05DSL3A]

LB wrote:

Doesn't doubt mean you think something is not what it appears to be or what someone else says it is?

I would say that doubt is more a feeling of uncertainty or a lack of conviction.

"I doubt that it actually does that", you are not convinced that it does that. If you have a doubt about using arrays, you are uncertain about their proper use.

[LB]

Maybe the problem is that dictionary definitions don't give proper connotations. Oh well.

[htirwin]

It appears that those people are using the word correctly.

[LB]

Maybe in a very literal by-the-dictionary sense, but the way the word is normally used is not like that.

[Disch]

My money is on a non-native thing.

I'm not surprised by it. There are a lot of English sayings that are misused among large groups of people in different countries.

I worked for a [South] Korean company a few years back. The owners, and several of our customers spoke English as a second language. 2 of the things I remember standing out that were weird:

- They said "Something didn't happen until now"... but what they meant was "Something didn't happen yet"

- They said "How come?"... but what they really meant was "What happens next?"

[z05DSL3A]

but the way the word is normally used is not like that.

... maybe not in your neck of the woods but elsewhere, perfectly normal.

[BHX]

Doubt this confusion will ever be resolved anytime soon. Sorry, couldn't resist. To some, doubt is accurate because they don't think their code is doing what they intended for it to do. Though, I agree that confusion is a better choice for it.

[Cubbi]

I bet non-native too, here's a representative example:

"Hi i have weird doubt. My assingment is C++ program to insert and delete elements in Binary Search Tree" -- http://www.cplusplus.com/forum/general/19534/ "C++ doubt"
(another post from the same user was "array removal doubt")

[z05DSL3A]

Disch wrote:

There are a lot of English sayings that are misused among large groups of people in different countries.

I don't think you need the 'in different countries' bit. There are so many words and phrases that are misused everyday, leading to others thinking they know the meaning but in reality they are only perpetuating the miscomprehension.

[z05DSL3A]

I am a native english speaker and a native englishman for that matters, I would say that it is perfectly correct to use doubt in that way.

[Cubbi]

Hm, some googling suggests this misuse of "doubt" originates from Spanish "Tengo una duda"

[BHX]

@Cubbi
That is actually an interesting find, assuming the pages that say that are actually factual.

[JLBorges]

> Maybe the problem is that dictionary definitions don't give proper connotations. Oh well.

I suppose it depends on which dictionary one looks at.

In the dictionaries that I have looked at, the primary meaning of 'doubt' as a noun is uncertainty (typically with respect to an unresolved or unclarified point) about something. And the primary meaning of 'doubt' as a verb is to be unsure about how correct or good something is.

These (the first three thread topics from the link in the original post) use the noun 'doubt' correctly, precisely:

Basic doubt regarding an aspect of SVN V
Doubt about fstream
Conceptual doubt with character pointer

I think the word 'doubt' may have a different emphasis in the American dialect. Where, AFAIK, it is usually used as an intransitive verb implying scepticism and distrust. In which the palpable distinction between "having a doubt about a C++ feature" and "doubting a C++ feature" is completely lost.

[ResidentBiscuit]

I've seen this a lot with folks from India. It is awkward from a native English speaker, but I've never really bothered to look into why it happens. Just figured it was one of the many ways English is weird.

[LB]

@JLBorges: I think you hit the nail on the head. I hadn't even considered that it might be us Americans using the word wrong, but knowing our history that's probably the case. So, it's everyone else using the word correctly and me using the word incorrectly (or in fewer places than everyone else).