meaning - Is 'learn' the new 'teach'?


With seemingly increasing frequency I come across a phrase using 'learn' when I think it should be 'teach'.


The classic example is 'that will learn them!', as in "Shoot all criminals - that will learn them!". I thought this was being deliberately wrong for comedic effect, in keeping with the general sentiment of the sentence.


Another example from a Stack Exchange site (http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/53880/stuff-you-should-have-learned-in-school-but-didnt-pay-attention-to-at-the-time)



I don't know if you can learn someone to write at this age



Am I being overly fussy/old fashioned or is this just wrong?



Answer



In standard English, using learn to mean teach is incorrect. It is, however, a feature of some non-standard dialects. The examples you give all seem to be to be using learn for comedic effect, mimicking the non-standard dialects where this sort of thing is common.


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