Changing Language

Well, we'll have a gay old time with this one! And no I'm not talking about the modern meaning of the word "gay," which can be used as a derogatory term for a homosexual man. I'm reaching back to the early 1900s with this one, when the word "gay" meant happy, joyful or a good time.

As time passes, the meanings of words can change dramatically. Some seem to no longer have connections at all with what the original word meant.

For example, the word easel, in it's original Dutch derivative, meant donkey. These days, an easel is best recognized at something upon which a painter places a canvas.

For a related example, the word ass. That also meant donkey, and still can. It can also mean a fool or an overbearing jerk. However, this term also has various sexual connotations in modern language ranging from a person's rear end or derrière to an actual sexual act.

The same can be said of the word faggot. An older version of the word faggot involves wood used in fireplaces. Or if you want to go back even further, head over to ancient Rome when senators would carry a faggot over their shoulders to identify their status. (The symbol continues today though many people won't recognize it. Just look at a dime.)

Over time, it changed to a term that again is derogatory of homosexuality, specifically men. And the shortened version of the word, fag, is also what a cigarette can be called in Europe.

I remember when I was in the play "The Rivals" that I discussed in my post on malapropisms, there was a character by the name of Mr. Fag. Because of the connotations of that word, the director changed the name to Mr. Bragg.

Even though that play was written so long ago, the changes in language since then made a name uncomfortable to use. Such may be the fate of words we use today in some future we won't see.

This is by far not the first time I have personally noted a change in definition from era to era, age to age. Language is not stagnate and since evolution is a part of life, it is fitting that language also changes and adapts as times passes.

Except for ones like Latin, which is considered a "dead" language because it hasn't changed in a very long time.

Sometimes terms come into being as a fad, a slang.

For example, how many people recognize the word "gnarly" by it's meaning from the 1980s? According to Urban Dictionary (a site I find completely fascinating), it's a slang term for something extreme, with both negative and positive connotations. In the past, and in the rare instance it is used today, gnarly means something twisted or difficult to achieve.

Few people will say "That's gnarly, man!" these days, but you might stumble over a gnarly root.

How about a nice step back in time now...

In one of Shakespeare's plays (I believe "Othello"), there is a reference to a tail that's not talking about something hanging down behind... Indeed, it's something that tends to hang down in front. At least it hangs until something works it up anyway, though I saw a news report that when it's up, it's actually relaxed.

Either way, that really puts a whole new twist on having your tail tucked between your legs when you think of drag queens.

Though, it's still something that can be wagged... OK enough with the sexual innuendos on that one...

What one word means today may not necessarily be what it will mean in the future or what it meant in the past.

Why would I bother making a point about this? Because I happen to adore reading Shakespeare and words in his plays have meanings for the people of his day that many people of this day and age wouldn't recognize or would interpret differently.

So the things we write today may one day come under the interpretation of future readers who may struggle with it. Why? Without knowing the context of the words as we use them now, such people will not understand what we are talking about and it may even make them reluctant to use the word.

It's all relative, though it's not Albert Einstein.

We relate to the words we use in everyday speech, like cool and phat. They may become part of the general language, as words like tweet and blog have in recent years. Or they may fade away, the passing fad that loses its panache as people overuse or grow bored with it.

Makes me think of the many uses of the F-word, which is also a perfect example of how language has changed. It has gone from a word meaning to strike to one with various meanings including sexual ones as well as emotional ones. If you wish, here is a link to a video on YouTube about this word. It really is an audio file to which someone added the video, but that's OK. And remember, since this is about the F-word, it does contain adult language.

All of a sudden, I can't help but think of the episode of "Family Guy" in which Stewie travels to the future. He spray paints something on the wall that he thinks is derogatory, but because of a person winning an election, the meaning of the word had changed and it was no longer derogatory. (I believe the episode was "Bango Was His Name, Oh!" However, I am not sure.)

Here is a video from a lecture by Steven Pinker. In this he is talking about how language is acquired and how it changes as we mature. For parents who want their children to learn another language, they might want to consider using the new language by kindergarten, or even earlier, because of how they learn it. Like me beginning to learn French with the Muzzy videos when I was three.

Then there are the phrases, like "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" or "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Like individual words, these phrases come and go through history. There was one day I responded to a comment from an older co-worker with the latter of those two phrases. He had no idea what I was talking about, so I looked it up and showed him the meaning of the phrase.

That incident really surprised me at the time, though I guess it shouldn't have. It was a phrase I grew up hearing, and I thought he would know what it meant, in that you don't want to seem rude and closely examine a gift, be it an easy day at work or a financial windfall.

So, I goofed on that one and had to haul out a book I like to flip through from time to time that has the history of words and phrases. My copy is currently in storage so I can't give you the exact title, but I believe it is "The QBP Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins." There are several editions of this book, and I am not sure what edition I have, or even if this is indeed the book I have!

Either way, keep this in mind when you are reading something from a different time. The tongue-in-cheek commentary, the subtle jokes or even the blatant jabs may not mean now what once they did.

I'm not trying to be a Jack about this (that's another Shakespeare reference for you), but I feel it is important for people to see just how much change, and chance, play a role in our lives, in our culture, in the very language we speak and write.

For this post, I found Google Books and The Free Dictionary to be quite useful...

I also found a blog posted by Ed West, on "The Telegraph" (August 23, 2011), to be interesting as it addressed a very similar topic... Here is a link to that post if you would like to read it.