Quote of the Day: Words - Ricochet.com

Posted by parceline on

Saturday, January 14, 2023

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.” – Lewis Carroll

I use words to make my living, both as an engineer and a writer. For me at least, it is important that words have accepted meanings. They can share several meanings. (Mean, for example can mean a statement of the meaning of a word or phrase, a description of something with poor, shabby, or inferior quality or status, or a middle point between extremes. It depends on the context, but if you know the context, you understand the meaning.) Words can change meanings. (He plays a mean trumpet, for example is a compliment, extrapolated from another meaning of the word.) But the change should not be arbitrary.

Yet today we live in a sea of arbitrarily changed meanings. We cannot use “field” anymore because it is racist. (Please substitute “practicum.” It isn’t even a good substitute, but at least it is not racist It is also polysyllabic which underscores the intellectual superiority of the user – and appalls the writer in me.) Or suddenly a word means the opposite of what its original meaning was. (“Tolerant” comes to mind – which has somehow morphed from reluctantly accepting to wholeheartedly approving and affirming.) I am sure you can think of others. (Feel free to add examples in the comments.)

The question is why? My feeling is it is an intentional attempt to detach people from the ideal there is objective truth. As the county song states, “You have to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.” To stand for something, there has to be objective truth. Arbitrarily changing word meanings is a great start in the goal of chipping away the foundation of objective truth.

I’ll close with advice from Roger Scruton: “A writer who says that there are no truths, or that all truth is ‘merely relative,’ is asking you not to believe him. So don’t.” Push back on attempts to arbitrarily change the meaning of words. I recommend mockery. It is highly effective. That of course is why the downhill slide started with the emphasis on feelings and the creation of safe spaces. It takes mockery off the table. Mock that, too.

Published in Group Writing

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