An interesting quote: "The writing of a dictionary, therefore, is not a task of setting up authoritative statements about the true meanings of words, but a task of recording, to the best of one's ability, what various words have meant to authors in the distant or immediate past."-pg. 34
The fact that language is constantly changing is an interesting concept which I feel gives each generation a sense of individuality. This past week I visited my 91 year old grandmother in Seattle, and as I talked to her, she mentioned the "kind negro woman" who cared for her. My first response when she said this was to become very uncomfortable, since we were sitting in a room with many people. It turned out that my grandma had been saying this to almost everyone she talked to, even directly to the African-American woman who cared for her. Noone minded because everyone understood that my grandma was not aware that it was now a socially unacceptable word to say. Like many other words, this word has changed in meaning, taking on a negative connotation and becoming an inappropriate word to say in everyday use.
After this experience, I began thinking about other words that have changed. For me, the most obvious changes were new words. As a religious viewer of "The Colbert Report", I immediately thought of the word "truthiness" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/06words.htm). The other words I immediately thought of (I shamefully admit) were the myriad of terms created in the last ten years by online gaming ("noob", "pwn", "plox", to name a few). Many of these terms are specific to a younger generation which often leads to misunderstanding or confusion between people of different age groups (like what happened between me and my grandmother).
Ultimately, Hayakawa is stating that writing a "master dictionary" which perfectly defines every word and suits every person is impossible. Therefore, Websters and others are left with the job of defining words in a way that suits the largest group of people and addresses the various meanings a word has adopted over the years.
-Bryce Cody
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I found that quote to be very intriguing, too. Words' meanings change over time, as well as people's interpretations of them. Your example of you and your grandma cleary exemplifies how one word can be perceived as derogatory by one person, and acceptable by another.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, new words commonly used today through texting and social networking sites, such as "lol," can be misconstrued by the old generation due to the advancement of technology and the creative minds of the young generation.
The meaning of words and different generations go hand in hand.
-Chloe Martianou
Chloe, your second paragraph reminded me of a conversation I had with my mom. Upon passing a group of people from the lacrosse team, she noticed the word "LAX" on their shirts, and asked me why they were advertising laxatives. (She's a dietitian, and uses the abbreviation "lax" for her patients.) Just as the meanings of words change from generation to generation, so do the meanings of abbreviations.
ReplyDelete-Audrey
While I was reading/outlining Hayakawa, I also noticed the generation-to-generation word difference. I wandered onto the internet, and found some interesting sites.
ReplyDeletehttp://everything2.com/title/Words+that+don%2527t+mean+the+same+as+they+used+to
http://www.helium.com/items/338032-what-survival-of-the-fittest-means
The second link shows how primary definitions from one generation becomes secondary definitions in another generation. The dictionary, as our book implies in chapter 4, is a record. The dictionary adds definitions instead of deleting. The newer, updated dictionaries label definitions "obsolete" if the definition is outdated from generations past. Our language really is survival of the fittest, because some words endure more than others.
I also came across a theory that said how the frequency of usage also plays a significant role in how much a word's meaning changes. If we use a word more, it changes less.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/10/11/words_hum.html?category=human
And then in the middle of the article is a video on the meaning of "9/11". Before, it was just "a date on our calendar," but now it's a "cultural identifier for this generation." Our language really is versatile and perpetually changing.