I found the video at the end of this post on Doxy's Facebook page and I was astounded when I watched it. It made me think of my own "lazy language" and how the impact of contemporary culture and the use of social media impacts communication.
One day last year, Lisa and I were on the phone. I recall that we talked about the intersection of cultural decline and the loss of language. This has all been happening and as with many things, by the time we notice it, it is nothing new.
That does not make it any less alarming.
Mind you, language is alive - so it will change. That is not the problem. How language changes speaks volumes about the culture that puts the change into motion.
One of the reasons that this is on my mind is due to a Facebook comment thread on my blog the other day. A former co-worker of mine, a fine person, but one with very different political views than my own, made a remark about the Obama administration. He said (emphasis mine):
Change is only possible when the majority agrees that change is not only needed, but the best course of action. You can't just shove it down everyone's throat. No matter how much we all may agree that change is needed, you need the buy in from the majority. If not then this administration is making the same mistakes as their predecessor.
This notion of how Obama is "shoving" things down our throats continues to astound and amaze me. What does it say about language, perception and propaganda?
Personally, while I am not as hard on Obama as many of my compatriots, I do think that he has made numerous mistakes. (It should be noted that I am listening to John Boehner, always known for his collaborative ways, in the background on NPR. He is talking about how the President needs to listen to people and be more bi-partisan.)
However, just how the conversation about healthcare or bi-partisan politics is framed, seems to be defined by the somehow-more-aggressively-inarticulate. In some bizarre and counter-intuitive way, they are more, dare I say, articulate.
Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.
How language changes speaks volumes about the culture that puts the change into motion.
ReplyDeleteDead on, Fran.
As I read your post, all kinds of thoughts started swirling through my brain. I think about how much my work these days is focused on simplifying materials so that the "Average American" (meaning one who reads on a 6th-grade level) can understand them. I believe strongly in giving people information they can use, but it is disturbing that we so blithely accept literacy levels that mean our citizens cannot understand complex concepts.
I think about how the Internet and mobile technology are teaching us to truncate the way we communicate and are destroying our ability to pay attention. When I blog now--or when I write for my clients' websites--I rarely use more than two sentences in a paragraph. People's attention span for reading on the Web is simply too short. If I can't get the information to them in 3 seconds, they will go somewhere else.
I won't even go into the way all of this is affecting people's ability to spell and punctuate! ;-)
In some bizarre and counter-intuitive way, they are more, dare I say, articulate.
In a world of tentative communicators, the person with the loud, bold message will always draw the crowd--even if the message defies logic or truth.
Many people crave certainty and simplicity. They are uncomfortable--even angry--about ambiguity and complexity. Especially when they do not have the tools to analyze what they hear/read. (See comment about literacy levels above.) They think that framing things in complex ways is simply trickery by "elites"--and they suspect that said elites are really making fun of them.
And that is why people like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have been able to frame issues the way they do. They make everything simple. They declare. They are not tentative.
I would say that progressives should take a page from their playbook, but it's not that simple. Life *is* complex. I don't know what we do when people refuse to acknowledge that, and insist that there is a simple answer for every problem. I'm afraid we will see the consequences of that stance sooner, rather than later---and I shudder at what that means for my children's futures.
I also don't know what to do with someone like your friend, who believes that Obama is shoving things down people's throats. That is just such a blatant distortion of reality that it beggars belief. (I bet I know which "news" station he watches, though....)
Pax,
Doxy
I've got some advice for Obama: whatevre the pundits and republicans are saying, do the opposite. There. Where's my check?
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that the internet, tv, etc., allow or encourage people to be easily distracted, but I think the interactive aspect of some internet sites is a good thing. Hey, I had to type this comment. And I'm reading your words. Words still matter. That said, don't get me started on texting.
Texting is the gateway to the destruction of the English language as we know it.
ReplyDeleteI h8 it.
I was trying to find comedian Greg Giraldi's contrast between letters written home by Civil War soldiers and Iraq War soldiers writing now.
ReplyDeleteLet's just say one started out "My dearest Evangeline, one cannot truly capture in words the horrors I have experienced..." and the other started out, "Hey, Tina. I'm sweating my BALLS off out here."