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From:
Jerry Spillman Date: Mon Nov 12, 2001 3:04 pm Subject: Re: Is SignWriting Necessary? | |
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Angus: Actually, you have struck the nail on its head. My boss thinks I should change to the new political-speak from the common (vulgar). Instead of referring to an idiot as an idiot, one must now say that person is intellectually challenged. What I see here (viewpoint from an uneducated person) is merely a change from simple down-to-earth language to "make it vague, perhaps no one will take offense". Unfortunately, if we all become so thin-skinned that we are insulted by mere conversation, I don't believe we will have enough time to conduct business at all, but will spend it all in litigation over the "correctness" of speech. Personally, I think it would be more productive to work at improving the usage of the common language, rather than to come up with "clever" ways of stating a fact. I think that standards are wonderful, because they limit the amount of "twisting" allowed to convey the meanings of ordinary speech. I think (and evidence bears this out) that language does evolve. However, also in my thinking, and perhaps like that of some who wanted Latin to remain the standard, some common sense should limit how far we go in our experimentation. |
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