Why What Words Mean Matters

[LadyJane]

I’ve been watching the chipping away of languages and wondering if all the simplified definitions and meaningless acronyms are really saving us all that much time. The repetitive speeches of political campaigns prove slogans effectively take hold of our attention and manipulate our minds. Words are distorted from their actual meaning and the new definitions are compelling us to turn on each other if we deviate from the new mangled scripts. Are we prepared for what comes next?

I appreciate the diversity of language and every country should be given an equal opportunity to include any new words to the dictionary. That should be neither frightening or controversial. I find it highly suspicious when the intention is to jam words together and invent a scary meaning that isn’t there. I don’t know what to make of the term CommunistFascistMarxist. Mainly because it isn’t a thing. I still hear it out loud though. And it’s so stupid I find it funny.

There are so many others. And when I see them written down I want to roast the author mercilessly. But there just isn’t time.

In a world where everything has become an insult or a compliment the word elitist has lost all meaning. It seems something to be lobbed at anyone we dislike. And while it gets bandied about carelessly, in a desperate effort to communicate, people struggle to adapt to the new parlance as the elitist goes unnoticed. Are we really doing this? Should we really be making sense out of nonsense? Does it not put a strain on our own credibility? I’m not sure catering to this is helping anyone. And how long? How long must we sing this song? It's hard to say.

It’s like values. I hear a lot of people talk about values. What is it supposed to mean? Are we reflecting enough to imagine what happens when the machine stops? Where we get the information we currently take for granted and what magical places our libraries become? I’m a regular so I already know. It’s not at all like the internet. Everyone is always happy there and it doesn’t cost a thing. In the real world nobody feels the need to say they have values. You’d sound like a lunatic.

In lieu of insulting people...maybe we can roast these hapless definitions instead. Fer fun. Words that are frequently used yet have no meaning. Powerful people surround themselves with sycophants who never challenge the things they say. Then the idiotic things they say get repeated. I think making it embarrassing to continue using them incorrectly would be a great way of taking them back.

Things that spiralled this far out into the stratosphere can be turned around just as easily. And brought back down to planet Earth.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Things that spiralled this far out into the stratosphere can be turned around just as easily.

As much as I appreciate your post -- if only because I hate semanticide -- I suspect that your hopeful last paragraph is far from accurate.

Things spiral propelled by ignorance and thoughtlessness. Perspective and thoughtfulness are far less easy to cultivate.

 

[LadyJane]

I realize negative things get more attention than positive ones so I figure you flood the system with stuff that makes people stop and think (and laugh) before rushing back to the keyboard. At least to gather the thoughts they mean to express. And learn the kind of discipline that doesn't perpetuate misinformation and disinformation. Apply a little scrutiny before posting.

Maybe I don't fully understand how trending clicks go viral. Like the "hawk tuah" girl? Did she stumble out of a bar before making those remarks? Are we all not guilty of saying something unfortunate after drinking? It just wasn't captured and broadcast. At least it was original. That poor girl has been stamped with a fame label beyond her control. I hope she has a back up plan.

Patrons say things here all the time. Unendingly Cringeworthy. About transpeople, about atheists, about suicide. It's a real bummer man. Can this not be flipped on its head? I think people have been starving for sustenance since Covid. Dry as a bone and dying of thirst. Fill the void for free. Not responding to trolls and attention seekers, fer starters.

People have the power. It just takes a little creativity. Let the algorithms do the heavy lifting.

 

[Quintessence]

I'm not entirely sure what you are on about (I don't expose myself to internet culture enough to understand) but this thought comes to mind:

Beware of those seeking to control how others use language - for they often also seek to control people. ​

 

[LadyJane]

I'm not entirely sure what you are on about (I don't expose myself to internet culture enough to understand) but this thought comes to mind:

Beware of those seeking to control how others use language - for they often also seek to control people. ​

Exactly why I'm going on about it. Words that have been co-opted and parroted in order to control the masses. Woke, DEI, BDS, Socialism, all exemplify concepts that were redefined into negative things and repeated enough to be recognized as bad.

You hear it all the time on and off the internet. Cultural Marxism? Attempting to address it in real time looks exhausting. Kudos to the folks on these forums for their unabating resistance against deliberate efforts of undermining our confidence in these terms.

I think the origin of words are worth remembering. While we still can.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm not entirely sure what you are on about (I don't expose myself to internet culture enough to understand) but this thought comes to mind:

Beware of those seeking to control how others use language - for they often also seek to control people. ​

However, it is cromulent to strive for
use of dictionary definitions, eschewing
misleading personal definitions.
This makes communication easier.

 

[osgart]

Sometimes language lacks and has holes in it where it becomes too hard to communicate meaning. The dictionary is just a jumping off point. There's enough adequate words in English that shouldn't be muddied, nor watered down or worse subverted. However sometimes words become generic, all purpose where nothing is significant.

 

[Quintessence]

Exactly why I'm going on about it. Words that have been co-opted and parroted in order to control the masses. Woke, DEI, BDS, Socialism, all exemplify concepts that were redefined into negative things and repeated enough to be recognized as bad.

You hear it all the time on and off the internet. Cultural Marxism? Attempting to address it in real time looks exhausting. Kudos to the folks on these forums for their unabating resistance against deliberate efforts of undermining our confidence in these terms.

I think the origin of words are worth remembering. While we still can.

I suppose I'm not convinced the origin of words matters much, except perhaps as an intellectual or academic curiosity. Language is a living, fluid entity that is in a constant state of change and flux. Historical usages of terms - or their origins (which are often unclear) - is typically non-relevant when communicating in the present.

It seems to me what you're pointing at is less of a language problem and more of an education problem. A large part of learning a particular academic discipline is understanding what various everyday language terms mean within a more specialized context. These specialized and more technical meanings of terms coexist alongside colloquial usage or common parlance. It will always be so, as far as I can tell, given the depth of study needed to gain competency in a discipline. Whether or not a populace in a culture respects the value of expertise and listens to its experts is... well, the United States is not a culture that uniformly values education and knowledge. So you end up with conflicting narratives where subject experts have one understanding and the common parlance is something else. A lot. It is what it is.

Add to this that while language is used to communicate, not all parties are actually interested in listening to each other. The so-called "misleading personal definitions" that @Revoltingest talks about is... something of a case in point of this happening. Often these represent real cultural differences amongst people, and instead of understanding them, one side or the other quibbles about words. Hearing, without listening.