I truly believe the malignancy ( ma·lig·nan·cy / noun: very dangerous or harmful in influence or effect) that has begun to chip away at our society commenced with the calamitous (ca·lam·i·tous / adjective: catastrophic; disastrous.) movement of abbreviation.
Having a conversation with someone can be incredibly painful when every other word is “Like” and there is constant use of lazy abbreviations of words. A perfect example: Incredible “my lunch was like, so increds today. Did you see that episode of real housewives? That house doe!”. It pained me to write that last sentence.
There is no passion in discussion anymore. No love of communication. The days in which the word Mellifluous ( adjective: A sound that is sweet and smooth; pleasing to hear) and Disheartened ( Verb: cause (someone) to lose determination or confidence.) are lost, akin to the romancing sound of a Shakespearean sonnet.
We are now more inclined to spend our free time, glued to the television or I pad, numbing ourselves with the endless selection of reality TV shows. It’s no wonder our knowledge of language has flown right out the window, along with respect and work ethic (trust me… I’ll be touching on this subject in another blog). No longer are we more enthused to fill our time flipping page after page of our favorite book; engulfing the deep recesses of our minds with images formed by deep, meaningful words. Gone are the times we had our friends over for dinner; spending long nights laughing and conversing about past stories, current events and future plans. A bright blue and white thumbs up is now what our communication consists of (oh but wait!… now you can do a love, smiley, sad, angry and shocked face.. we’ve progressed!!)
Now hold back your pitch forks and burning brooms, my intent is not to be a hypocrite. I do after all post my blog on social media and spend a little amount of time perusing Facebook, liking and sharing peoples posts. I also have an extensive book collection which I have currently read 60% of, and learn a new word every day; and avoid reality tv and well anything that isn’t the discovery channel as if it were the plague.
Language defines us. It moves us. It breaks down barriers. For example; instead of responding to someone’s funny message with “I actually found that to be incredibly humorous, I enjoy when you say things that make me laugh” we write back: LOL.
Look at how impactful the first method is; it included acknowledgement, the receiver was complimented and it left room for a returned response which would in turn continue a conversation. “LOL” is dismissive, cold, emotionless.
Language has power, and we are becoming weaker and weaker. It is borderline embarrassing; a man running for president uses his words to assure his voters that there is nothing wrong with the size of his cock (pardon my French). And a prime minister who includes the word “UM” after every 2nd pre scripted sentence in his speach as he flicks his dark flowing locks and smiles with 2 pandas craddled in his arms.
Words and their power; words can change the world; or simply our own seemingly insignificant existence on this planet. Words can dig someone out of the trenches saving their lives, they can break someone or build them up to do something great. Words can envelope the love of your life and allow them to understand the depths of your affection, your needs, hopes and desires.
We need to revive and resuscitate the English language; the art of communication. First step is to ban trashy celebrity magazines (which by the way, infuriates me to think they stock such things at places like chapters). Second: Cancel the Kardashians and every desperate housewife reality TV show and invest in the distribution of dictionaries and thesaurus’s (Thesauri?).
We need to reinstate the importance of how we are portrayed, as humans, when we communicate effectively and beautifully with words that move us and speak to our souls. If not, we may as well keep reverting back to the time we grunted and pointed at objects to communicate.
Alyssa's MOMoirs 