How our language is being overwritten

submitted by magnora7 from self.magnora7

I'm not sure if this is intentional or just happens by circumstance, but I have noticed a pattern in the use our our language, and how it changes.

Certain terms that are very useful get "overwritten" by other terms that are homonyms, but are more emotionally salient.

For example:

The term "shades of grey" is a very useful term to highlight the grey area between two ideas, and that there is a whole spectrum of ideas between black and white. It's a beautiful term. But since "50 Shades of Grey" became an extremely popular book and movie, the term "shades of grey" immediately conjures up that work of fiction and all the BDSM, domination, and pseudo-rape that is associated with it. Now you cannot use the phrase "shades of grey" in a conversation without the other person (more likely than not) thinking of the book or movie in their head, even if subconsciously, and being distracted or disgusted or both. It is an unneeded detour of conversation, and makes them somehow wonder if you're referencing the book. As a result I have slowly discontinued my use of that phrase, as have many others I'm sure. The phrase has been soiled. Another useful idiom bites the dust. Perhaps never to come back.

Here's another: Trump. I never say that X trumps Y anymore, I say X is better than Y, or X bests Y. The word Trump probably has more emotion connected to it than any word in American English at the moment. Can you play the card game Hearts and say "the card that leads is the trump card" without immediately thinking of the president and all the cultural inflammation surrounding it?

Third example: Double entendres. There's an episode of King of the Hill called "That's What She Said" where they hire a new employee at the propane company, and the employee constantly sexualizes everything everyone says in a joking manner, to the point where the other employees become afraid to speak, lest they accidentally say a word that could be mistaken as a double entendre. So they sit silently and trip over their words out of embarrassment to the point that the company begins losing customers.

The main character, Hank Hill, eventually convinces the boss that the jokes aren't funny, and he fires the joker. At then end of the episode the remaining employees are relieved to be able to speak freely again. "This propane grill will smoke your meat. And it's got a nice big rack for your buns. Or wieners! Feels good to say wieners again."

I feel like our society has become much like this. People are afraid to say the thing that comes to mind, lest it be misconstrued as something else because of all the overlaid double-meanings that so many words have come to have because of things being popularized in the media.

I have just realized this pattern, and was curious if anyone else had any observations or thoughts.

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[–]Mnemonic 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

Certain terms that are very useful get "overwritten" by other terms that are homonyms, but are more emotionally salient.

It think it's more a case of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UnIDL-eHOs . It's the language evolving through culture.

  • The shades of grey/double entendre (or as I like to call it: The Freudian Cigar) it's a case of ignoring the giggles or the urge to say 'No it's not ...' or 'I mean the ... meaning not the ... ' because usually it's pretty clear you don't. Like the episode comically put out: Everything can be related to sex if you just think long and hard about it.

  • The trump thing is probably the reason the Drumph (was it?) family changed their name to Trump.

People are afraid to say the thing that comes to mind, lest it be misconstrued as something else because of all the overlaid double-meanings that so many words have come to have because of things being popularized in the media.

That would be people who are afraid to say homo, because apparently they can only see heaps of dicks and man-sex when using it while it's a commonly used Latin word meaning equal.

But on a more serious note, this overwriting of language because of media memes out of fear for social standing is a symptom of a broken society that watches too much crap rather than it being the cause or some sort of media masterplan. People who work 9-5 (or longer) and spend their free time passively watching 'crap' while their brains think they are somehow socially interacting with these voices/images on the screen. Apart from that dystopian imagery, it's (like in you OK video) a natural think for language to change according to culture changes, too bad media has become culture.

[–]magnora7[S] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Good points.

too bad media has become culture.

Media has always been culture. The problem is that the people no longer make the media, the corporations do. That's why we need to make our own culture. That's why I do podcasts, write articles, and why I built saidit

[–]Mnemonic 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Media has always been culture.

I agree, but it used to be a part of culture, made through/by culture and not dictating it.

That's why we need to make our own culture. That's why I do podcasts, write articles, and why I built saidit

I see what you mean and really do appreciate it all. I only think that culture is something much more local, but these things (and internet 'culture') are a good replacement of mainstream media and dull entertainment.

[–]HibikiBlack 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Yes, the people in the elites are seeking to use hypersensitization to force people into using the language that they want people to use. They are also making us normalized towards many kinds of violence too. Basically political correctness is in a way cultural genocide. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you read this shower thought of mine involving language:

https://saidit.net/s/C_S_T/comments/4x0/language_and_traditions_as_identity_the/

[–]magnora7[S] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I generally agree.

They are also making us normalized towards many kinds of violence too.

I went to Germany and went on this castle tour, the guide was talking about how Germany was such a militaristic culture in the late 1890s that the Christmas trees even had tiny silver cannons as ornaments. It's a small detail, but thousands of cultural details like that add up and normalize things like war in the minds of the people living that culture.

It's really fascinating and subtle.

[–]Snow 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (6 children)

Yeah. I know what are you saying, the decline of language. English is not of my first language, I never watched "King of the Hill", and I know the same thing happening in every kind of language I know.

The reason for the decline of language is the decline of the first caregiver. (With less of political correctness: the decline of motherhood)Because the number of words we can use depends on the first caregiver used how much time to the baby, so you can find out that children from low SES status parents can talk fewer words. (you can google the research of it)And the government and society used a lot of ways to replace the traditional motherhood.

Since the lower and lower total vocabulary numbers they can talk, they have to use more double entendres to replace the words they can talk. And it's not a secret that when animals and plants stressed, they don't care about the quality of offspring but mating/looking mating for immediately. That's the over sexualize shit.

By the way, I hope no feminist in here read this. And this site called "SAIDIT", right?

The 50 shits of Grey is awful.

[–]magnora7[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Interesting theory, it makes a fair deal of sense.

[–]Snow 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

That how I explain this phenomenon. Ironically, I using English for typing now.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_deprivation_experiments

And the guy who invented the term "Autism" believed autism is cause by "lack of caring mothers".

[–]magnora7[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

That makes a lot of sense in this world of latchkey kids and 2 working parents

[–]Snow 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I spied the community of Autism parents many years ago, it very horrible inside, they discussed "how to abuse your child" there.

And groups of Autism parents funded research of Autism genes. It's BS if the reason is genetic, how could the numbers of Autism children skyrocketing in recent years? But abuse is not the only factor since I saw someone abused by their parents didn't get autism, but depression, genes should be a part of it. The most comment statement of them is "We found proof that Autism is nothing to do with parenting", it's a very common LIE, there's NO research proofed Autism is NOT related with the parenting.

[–]magnora7[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

It's BS if the reason is genetic, how could the numbers of Autism children skyrocketing in recent years?

Could be epigenetic, theoretically. But who knows. "autism" is so broad it's probably 20 different things caused by 20 different factors

[–]Snow 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

I have another theory to explain the decline of almost everything in the human recently: Cause by the antibiotics and electric power.

In the era without antibiotics and electric power, parents have to use far much time than nowadays to take care of children, if the child has a little bit of health problem, temperature, bacteria, and viruses would kill the child, is the temperature, bacteria, and viruses remove the "individuals with little problems " from the human gene pool. They polish the human gene pool by killing ~50% of children in the era without antibiotics.

After human removed these factors, the quality of life and health in the human will be...

Reference: https://vdare.com/articles/of-mice-and-men-spiteful-mutations-look-bad-for-the-west

Off topic, the mod of raddle must be mad for how you "kick" people into saidit.LOL.

[–]Marginotions 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Me, freshly beyond reddit, surprised this old post is still active. If saidit was like reddit, it would be archived.

Not sure if my comment is off topic, it's about 'double entendre' in which the original meaning has been apparently superseded by its opposite. My main gripe in this mode is "incredible". Not griping about confusion with Pixar animated video, but the very popular distorted meaning "favorably impressive", as in "this (item described) is so marvelous, you won't believe it!" This usage is very common in Epoch Times advertisements; seems to me this adjective is undesirable for application to a "controversial" news source.

An older version of this is just confusing, "sanction" because the Law senses (4, 5, meaning 'condamn') are the opposite of the "common senses" (LoL) (1..3), which make more sense due to the origin "sanctified" meaning blessed.