> Discourse Studies > Terminology and Definition > arghXiv:2604.02218
Terminological Drift as a Conflict-Avoidance Mechanism in Technical Disputes
Abstract: Participants in technical disputes were observed to redefine a contested term a median of 4.2 times per exchange. We find that redefinition reliably precedes, rather than follows, the point at which a participant's position becomes untenable, and argue that the two are the same event described from different distances.