If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
This is interesting. What word would I deem to be so offensive that I’d strip it from the dictionary and try to deny usage of?
There are a number of words associated with racism, sexism, and homophobia, that the world could do without, however these words sometimes get ‘re-appropriated’ by the very people targeted by them, in bold acts of defiance, and it is not my place to tell anyone what they should or should not take offence at. Policing language is a dangerous game. Where does the line get drawn? Recently, there was a minor furore over alterations to some Roald Dahl books. Expressions that are now felt to carry uncomfortable connotations were changed. There was a backlash, and the planned changes were retracted.
The meaning of words ebbs and flows with time. It is a fluid situation, and to ban any given word feels distasteful, however, if I had to ban one word, just one, can we all agree that I should ban ‘moist’?
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Unlike most I presume, I don’t have an issue with ‘moist’. I would however love to ban empty and meaningless political buzzwords….such as ‘family values’, ‘working families’, ‘woke’……the list goes on and on. Suffice to say, I don’t have just one word for the chopping block.
I’d wager we won’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to woke and wokeness – I for one would have no problem with described as woke. I don’t tend to find expressions like ‘hope and prayers’ to be particularly meaningful. You still can’t beat moist, though sometimes the word ‘sticky’ conjures up unpleasantness. There are some words that I struggle to say, such as ‘aurora’. Ugh, beautiful to look at, hard to pronounce.
When I say ‘woke’, I’m meaning the way that many on the Right employ it with the jerking of the knees, towards anything that they desire to virtue signal against…..sans context, definition or metrics. It’s the latest evolution of ‘political correctness’ as a pejorative. A lazy crutch for those who can’t cobble together a rational argument.
That’ll teach me to make assumptions!
It does seem like expressions of kindness, compassion etc get twisted (by the left as well as the right to be fair) into derogatory expressions. Then again, as I mused, negative expressions and even outright slurs can get appropriated by the very groups targeted by said slurs. Language is a remarkable thing in that respect.
I don’t agree with banning words. I think they all have a purpose, even the really nasty ones. But I do think we should do more to address the negativity that causes people to use words in a hateful way. It’s harder to do that, though, than just bury language. So, invariably, new taboo words end up replacing the so-called “bad” words.
Language does have a remarkable way of evolving, doesn’t it? My daughter says ‘ye’ instead of yes, which is apparently the thing to do now. Also, ‘yeet’ instead of throw, which is just plain weird.