Language, for the most part, has lost a lot of its meaning in the last century. If you look back 400 years ago, we used words a lot more carefully to say what was needed to be said. I mean many words have lost a lot of their meaning such as the word great. Great is now just a generic word for good, in fact it could be used in a lot of ways but still be the same.
However even with language being so meaningless words can still be used to hurt. Its just who says and the context that they say it with that hurts. For instance if my friend calls me gay I know hes joking so it rolls right off me like its nothing, its just his way of calling me gay. However is I walk up to some complete stranger or someone I'm having a real argument and say their gay then that may cause a bit more of a blow.
In my social circles we can use words very carelessly we say things we would never want our parents to here, I guess it started as a way to rebel and be cool but its become a habit. A lot of us use the F word a lot but we would be completely embarrassed if our parents ever heard us. Words just mean different things depending on who and how you say them to.
Language has been used to oppress people. Racist things stuff such as the “N word” where created for the sol purpose of demoralizing people and forcing them to submit to you.
Is language out of hand then? Are these words we created with horrible meanings need to be done away with like in George Orwell's 1984? No, because that wouldn't change anything. Words do nothing but vocalize our feelings. I might feel very strongly about something so I need a strong word, or I might be talking to my friend and need a word that is between the two of us, non harmful but vulgar to show that we are friends and cool with each other.
Besides if you don't care what other people think about you words can never really hurt you. When a kid who is playing Halo 3 starts yelling curse words over Xbox Live do you think he really hurts anyone? No, they don't know him they don't really care what he has to say, he is just some stupid kid who like to know that you have to listen to him.
You might say that words can hurt people, words if used wrong can be terrible things. Imagine if I used the “N word” to describe an African American, why that would be horrible! But words can't harm people, only people can harm people. If I am calling that person that word I know what it means and I'm using that word because I do, I mean harm to them.
Overall words meanings have changed. We use words to say different things but we still use them for the same purpose. To vocalize our feeling towards a certain subject, their a tool, nothing more.
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6 comments:
Hmmm...matter of fact, simple, serious, or objective?
your voice is challenging
i agree with challenging
The voice is adamant and determined.
Colloquial was the real voice
Nice Title play on a common phrase dealing with oppressive language.
Watch the details: “is” instead of “if” and “their” instead of “they’re.” (2nd paragraph). Here/hear, like to know rather than likes to know.
Also, a number of fragments and run-ons – these could be viewed as a way to increase the “colloquial voice” but I think you can get a flowy, off-the-cuff voice without resorting to sentence errors.
Nice links with the games.
I’d work on trying to make your paragraph’s tighter. Cover only one subject, and make the same subject extend over several subsequent paragraphs. In many places it jumps around a bit.
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