Humans communicate through many ways but the most common is speech. There is a plethora of languages and because of this in each culture words have different meanings. For example: Ass is found in the bible to mean a donkey but nowadays people use it derogatorily regarding a person who is acting in a not nice manner.
However the power of a word can change based on context even in the same language. For example : The word "Nigger", a very strong word derogatorily referring to a black person. It has changed over time. During slavery before The Revolutionary War. Many white "owners" would refer to their slaves as their Niggers. Nowadays if a white person calls a black person this in the streets, its considered racist. But the Blacks have given Power to this word. As I have read in Gloria Naylor's essay on "What's in a name" she states, "When used with a possessive adjective by a woman- " my nigger", it became a term of endearment..." Furthermore, she goes on to explain they did this to signify it didn't matter what people called them, they would rise above it's original derogatory decent. This is one of the many intricacies between Language and Power.
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Can you think of other words that have changed over time, or even words that were once deemed derogatory but have now been reclaimed?
ReplyDeleteSure..."retarded" has changed over time.It originally was a term describing a physical condition is now changed to "physically challenged" to be more politically correct.
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