The Role of Language
The Role of Language The utilization of words & language as of today shows us a lot about our time era and time eras before us. How everything is arranged, pronounced and broken down helps us realize how different language helps change the mood and posture of a time era. In the formal past everything was smooth and connected most people used big words and proper grammar all the time no matter the situation. Today as time went on words are short and choppy, if you create your own slang no one cares. In today’s society people take words for granted and don’t take the time or the effort to learn them and actually utilize them correctly. We are for certain living in a time with less and less regard for precision of words & language.
An example of this lesser precision on words & language is seen in Ray Magliozzi’s “Help Us Overthrow the Tall/Short Mafia”. He points out that Starbucks slowly altered the meaning of pre – established words in the English language, such as changing the names of the drinks from “large” or “small” to “tall” and “short”. Tall then being their smallest drink size. Even I would get kind of confused going into a Starbucks store, and when I ask for a small they suddenly correct me and say something like “Ohh you mean tall”. All words have basic meaning or two when used in right context and everyone with basic skills know a lot of them. When you go around changing what you think is right, you cause a large scale of confusion (1). Also when a person is writing out their thoughts they tend to have more time to think about the words, such as how to arrange them and if they are being used correctly. But when you are just speaking out your thoughts, you have to go back to what you know and if all you know is “slang” and very low level words then you’re not going to sound very intelligent. But on the other hand if you have the chance to broaden your vocabulary you are going to sound like you know what you’re talking about. In today’s time I
An example of this lesser precision on words & language is seen in Ray Magliozzi’s “Help Us Overthrow the Tall/Short Mafia”. He points out that Starbucks slowly altered the meaning of pre – established words in the English language, such as changing the names of the drinks from “large” or “small” to “tall” and “short”. Tall then being their smallest drink size. Even I would get kind of confused going into a Starbucks store, and when I ask for a small they suddenly correct me and say something like “Ohh you mean tall”. All words have basic meaning or two when used in right context and everyone with basic skills know a lot of them. When you go around changing what you think is right, you cause a large scale of confusion (1). Also when a person is writing out their thoughts they tend to have more time to think about the words, such as how to arrange them and if they are being used correctly. But when you are just speaking out your thoughts, you have to go back to what you know and if all you know is “slang” and very low level words then you’re not going to sound very intelligent. But on the other hand if you have the chance to broaden your vocabulary you are going to sound like you know what you’re talking about. In today’s time I
Cited: (1) Magliozzi, Ray. "Help Us Overthrow the Tall/Short Mafia." The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing and Rhetoric. By Renée H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin D. Aufses. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2008. N. pag. Print. (4) Geoffrey Chaucer, The Riverside Chaucer, edited by Larry D. Benson, Third Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987), 502. (5) Historical Dictionary of American Slang, v. 1, A-G, edited by Jonathan Lighter (New York: Random House, 1994), 872. -Harper’s new monthly magazine./ Volume 91, Issue 543, [August, 1895] (6) -London, J (7) John. Royall Exchange. In Harlem: Printed wth Gulis Romaen, 1597. Print. - Mackenzie, Edward M. C. Carnival. London: Eveleigh Nash & Grayson, 1922. Print. -King, Richard -Robinson, Mary. The False Friend. London: Printed for T.N. Longman and O. Rees, 1799. Print.