"Why Is Language Changing?" #98

Larry Wilson, a seasoned veteran of the show business world, has carved a niche in examining the intricate ties between language and power through his work, notably as the host of the podcast "How to Talk to Humans." He believes that language is a potent tool that can be wielded to manipulate and influence people, drawing attention to both intentional and organic evolutions of English as it adapts to cultural and societal shifts. Frequently referencing George Orwell's "1984," Wilson warns of the potential dangers inherent in the manipulation of language, underscoring its capacity to shape thoughts and societal structures. By advocating for semiotic communication and a clearer understanding of the symbols underlying our interactions, Wilson champions individual autonomy and the critical importance of effective communication in nurturing authentic human connections.

(00:01:23) Dynamic Evolution of English Language Shapes Culture

(00:09:13) Manipulation and Deception Through Language

(00:12:54) Manipulation and Suppression Through Controlled Language

(00:20:34) Language Evolution Shaping Cultural Norms and Values

Hosted by Larry Wilson
Produced by: Verbal Ninja Productions
Producer: R. Scott Edwards
Sponsored by: The Wilson Method

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Transcript

0:03

Hi, this is Larry Wilson, and this is how to Talk to Humans. This is the podcast that shows you how to improve your communication skills. Are you looking to get a better job? Are you looking to find a relationship? Are you trying to do things in your life that have frustrated you and eluded you so far? I can show you so easily how to change that. Now, I can only do it with humans. If you're looking to deal with vampires or zombies, extraterrestrials, this is not the show for you. But if you're really looking to improve your communication skills, I can show you what I've learned from 40 years in show business working with the biggest celebrities. And superstars in the world. And their secrets are unbelievable. What I'm going to be teaching you during this course of this podcast every week are tools that you can use to communicate toward success. Hi, this is Larry Wilson. Thank you once again for joining us on how to Talk to Humans. This week. I really wanted to talk about something. That makes me sound like an old fogey. Now, that word itself, fogey is an archaic term that I would venture to say hardly anyone listening is familiar with this. But such is the evolution of language. It's always changing. And I hear people nowadays talking about it as if this is a new phenomenon. I don't think it is. I think this has always been taking place, but as is part of the. Cycle of life, younger people come along. And come up with words and language of their own, and older people who are not familiar with them think, what's going on, what's happening. But I think this has always been happening. You know, the thing that I like most about English is that it is an organic language, that it's always changing, I'm told. I don't know if this is true. But I'm told that there are certain languages that you're not really supposed to change. I'm told that French is very clearly rooted in historical precedents and that if you were to pick up a newspaper. Written in French from 500 years ago. It would be even easier than you would think to read it now, because. The language has not changed as much. As some other languages. I'm sure that many of you listening are aware that they're some other languages. That borrow words from English because they do not have words in their own. Language to use them. Now, English, of course, is famous for borrowing from all kinds of languages, which I think is fantastic. The fact that we pick up words, sometimes we make up words, and sometimes they catch on, sometimes they don't. They fall by the wayside. I never forget reading in Huckleberry Finn a passage, it stays with me to this day, where he's terrified that they're. About to get found out by someone. For some of their disguises or secrets. And he says, it scarce gave me the fan todds. And at the time when I read this, I thought, oh, this must be a made up word. No, I go and look up in. Some dictionary that has archaic stuff, fantods, meant to be so frightened that you trembled. Now, obviously that's not a word we. Use these days, not nearly as much as we might use the expression sound bite or to. Or to throw shade at someone. You know, there's. The whole nature of our language. Being organic is an incredible opportunity now. It makes it difficult sometimes for us. When we examine older texts, we see things from 100 years ago, 200 years ago, 300 years ago. Frequently, listeners to this podcast know of the high esteem I hold William Shakespeare in. And in my mind, one of the things that's extraordinary, a lot of Shakespeare is difficult for us to understand and sometimes almost seems impenetrable because of colloquialisms that must have been popular 500, 600 years ago. But there are still huge chunks of the original text that are completely understandable, that you can read. And when you see someone, a brilliant. Shakespearean actor, recite these lines, they come alive and you instantly understand the meaning of them. Well, to me, that almost seems impossible. It defies belief that it's possible, but it's true. And I hear a lot these days of people saying, it seems like language has changed, that words have. Now, I'll give you the most obvious, it's trite because it's probably been said death. When I was growing up, the word gay meant to be happy or light hearted, not its current meaning. I don't know when that transition took. Place, I don't know when that meaning changed, but it's the most obvious example. That comes to mind. Although. It'S also strange because it makes me think of the word queer. A hundred years ago, that word really. Meant something odd or strange, and to have it change in our lexicon the way it has now seems probably it's. Easier to follow the line of that. Changing, perhaps that queer people felt like they were outsiders and felt like the definitions of that word and the usage of that word made sense. But I think nowadays we see the strangest use. I'll tell you, the word that I would mark up as the weirdest of all is problematic. And I would have to say that the word problematic is very problematic. It's. I don't know where this came from. I don't know who started this. The word problematic seems to be synonymous with problem. But who am I? If people like the word and it's found its way into public usage, well, then more power to it. I, as many of you know, I'm always suspicious of fanciful words of what used to be called, you know, five dollar words, where someone has come up with something that's more complicated. And I hope that those of you who listen here religiously know that. I really don't have a tendency to take sides on things like this because I grew up in a time when it was considered acceptable for people to have differing opinions. It wasn't as common for people to start to threaten each other's lives because. They disagreed about things. Now that seems to be very popular now, and I wonder often if it is correlated to changes in language. The most commonly invoked name that I'm sure you've heard is that of George. Orwell, who wrote the eerily prescient 1984. If you haven't read it, you might. Give it a look. You'll probably find it fascinating, frightening, and like I say, so prescient, so predictive of a future. I, I don't know how he saw. This, except when I have read other writings of Orwell. He's clearly a man who sees the power of language. And that's what I thought we should discuss here today, because it is, as you know, I frequently have said that. I don't believe anything worth having in. This life is possible without communication. And the means that we are frequently using is language. Those of you who are more familiar with Wilson Method and with some of my teaching know that I'm a big proponent of semiotic communication, which really is anything that is not spoken. So writing, I'm sure, would be considered semiotic. Although semiotic usually suggests signaling of some kind. It might be something as simple as a woman's ponytail when she steps into. A crowded place and swishes that around. And it draws everyone's eye or a stop sign by the shape of it. By the color of it, we instantly. Know what message is communicating. But in terms of spoken and written information, like we find in George Orwell's writings, he was someone who, he can't. Be the first, but he was certainly. Someone who appreciated how important it is to be clear in communication and that when people are not clear, they may be attempting to obfuscate. Now there's One of those five dollar. Words I had warned you about before. They may be trying to cloud an issue or in some cases directly turn it on its head. So that in, in Orwell's 1984, the. Government, the faceless government, embodied by a. Character who's simply referred to as big issues, these edicts periodically that are so. Frightening, and I think one of the. Reasons they're frightening is because they seem so outlandish. Where they explain. Ignorance is education, war is peace, and you, you hear it and you want to say, that's crazy. That doesn't make any sense at all. Well, I think what Orwell had predicted. Was that if there are people who. Have a vested interest in controlling you. They begin with controlling language. Now, I certainly don't want to suggest here that someone using slang is doing that. Slang is a very common usage of camaraderie and fellowship with people who perhaps share an interest in something cultural or artistic or sporting, something like that. It's very different, of course, than I've spoken out about the usage of acronyms that I feel are really purposely used to exclude people. The idea of using acronyms is so that someone who doesn't know what they mean is kept on the outside. And by the same token, it frequently is used as a power play to make people who don't know them yearn. To learn the meaning of these acronyms. And it's very different than slang. I see slang is very inclusive, that people use it because they have shared experiences and shared interests, whereas acronyms, the. People who are on the inside know what it means. But when I say the DDRs must be appraised before 1114s can take all. AARs, I'm making this up. I have no idea what that means, but when I say that it's gibberish. Unless you're on the inside and part. Of the special club. So when I refer to people trying to control you, suggesting maybe that you should be careful when people try to take words that are in common usage. And. Radically change them to have a different meaning. When people ask me, why is the language changing? Or where do these words come from? Well, they clearly come from people who have an agenda. They either want to promote something, they want to sell something, market something, or control you in some way or other. And there's a common practice now where someone will take a word that's in. Common usage for years and years and. Years and they'll say, oh, that means something completely different now. Well, sometimes I suppose it's possible that it could mean something Different. But more often than not, I think it's a sign of someone trying to hijack the language because it's something of which they disapprove or they would like to restrict and their ideas. I'm going to make this word a danger point for people so that they're, you know, I'll. I'll tell you one that comes to mind. And I do apologize if I offend anyone. When I was a teenager, the word chick to refer to young women was in common usage. And when I was in college, there was a woman who was a proctor at the college, and this was a particular bugaboo with her, the word chick. And she laid into me so viciously. About using this word was so disrespectful. And was such a horrible thing to say. And I thought, wow, I never thought this. I. That's not what I intended. I. I just hear it in music and pop culture and movies, and this is what people say. And all of the women I know. Use it and didn't seem to be offended by it. Well, this woman made such an issue with it, I never, ever used the word again. But what I think is pertinent here is it didn't change what went on in my head. It just made me afraid to say the word that would incur her wrath. And if you think about when people try to change words, that's often what's going on to this day. You know, I remember when I saw the musical trio the Dixie Chicks, I. Couldn'T say their name. I'd been trained and brainwashed that you can't use this word. And here these women, I think very playfully calling themselves the Dixie Chicks, I don't think they meant any offense to anyone. I don't think they were trying to show disrespect. But it's a really perfect example that I thought of for myself personally, of someone training me to use language the way they wanted. But they still weren't able to change what I thought inside my head. And when people ask about language is changing, I think sometimes it may be because of exterior pressures that certain people. Who are trying to promote their agendas say. And as I mentioned before, I am staunchly apolitical. At times I don't feel like I. Even believe in politics. It seems wildly dishonest, like some kind of performative art. And when I hear people in politics on all sides say some very powerfully held opinion of theirs, then a week later say the exact opposite, I realize, oh, well, they don't really feel that at all when I say I like cheeseburgers, I mean it. I really like cheeseburgers. You're not going to catch me next. Week saying, oh, cheeseburgers, that's the tool of Satan. That's not. I say what I mean. But these people who are politicians, I. Understand it's something different. It's something that I'm not really a part of. Where they feel it's perfectly all right to reverse positions and then reverse their reversal of positions, that they're looking for. Votes, they're looking for approval, they're looking. For all these other things. I'm not saying they're the only ones. Who have an agenda to change language. You see it all the time. There are some people who feel that it will make them seem more special or more powerful. And again, I can only encourage everyone listening to keep in mind that no one can change what you think. I think this is the source of linguistic changes. There are sometimes people who have agendas, they want to change the culture and they know that changing language is the place you start with this. And then I think, on the other hand, a lot of language changing is organic because English is the world's most organic language. And so we're allowed to make up any words we like in the same manner. Let me thank you once again for. Being here and with the idea of using language however we like. Let me just say I'll see you on the beach. This has been Larry Wilson. I want to thank you for spending this time with me and I hope. You found this information useful. If you're looking for more, you can find it@thewilsonmethod.com There's a ton of stuff there. In fact, if you want, you can even speak to me because I'm human. Send me an email@infowilsonmethod.com because I read every single one. I hope that you'll join us next week in this continuing journey and you'll be with me for the next episode of how to Talk to Humans.