Chris Graham
Banned
So 'luvvies', a word coined in the C20th, is fine because it's in common use, but 'luv', a word coined in the C19th and also in common use, is an affectation.
Right.
Both words are fine in the right context, and the right context is chosen by the writer ultimately.... he or she has the last word. Any slang word has to be used with forethought, especially if it's not being used in dialogue. It depends if the narrative is being given in the 'voice' of a character that would use the word in question.
Your comment about which period the words were coined in says it all. My usage was in a dialogue taking place in the recent past, so the word 'luvvie' was current and was appropriate to the speaker. 'Luv' is also currently still used and is therefore fine, if the writer chooses to use it. There are lots of words, particularly slang words, that are obsolete, or have changed their meanings, but are still valid in the right places. But they need care in their usage if the reader is expected to understand them.
Today, if a person says "I'll do it presently". It means he'll do it later, but in the past it meant that he'd do it immediately, or at the present time. My late grandmother would have the family in fits of laughter, (which she never understood the reason for), when she'd ask if a pub, that we were all going out to, was a gay one or a posh one. A gay friend tried to explain the modern meaning to her, but she still used the word in its earlier meaning till the day she died, despite being perfectly accepting of him and his partner, and their situation. She put them up in her home for a week, in a double bed, while work was being carried out on their home.