06/27/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/27/2022 15:09
Are you the same person you were 10 years ago? What about 15? What about 250? We know the answer: Nothing stays the same for centuries, including language. Language change typically starts small, but over time it leads to dramatic and often unexpected meaning shifts. This is only natural, because language is at the service of our communication needs. Just as our communities, cultures, laws, and rights change and evolve, our language adapts to the shifting realities of our time.
For example, the word "hysteria" was created at the start of the 19th century to describe a supposed disease that afflicted women and made them upset and emotional. The word comes from the Greek word for uterus (like the word "hysterectomy"), but this anatomical word led to the word for the disease attributed to people with the organ, which in turn began to be associated with the extreme emotion and not actually that old 19th-century disease. Today, many people use "hysteria" or the adjective "hysterical" in English for "extreme emotion" (maybe you sob hysterically, or laugh hysterically), and likely don't realize the word has misogynistic roots.
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade precedent, as with most Court decisions, centered on interpreting a document created over 230 years ago, by very different people and in a very different social and historical context than where we find ourselves today. Language is closely linked to these judicial decisions, and there's a lot we can learn about society from language change.
Here are some other ways English has changed since the late 18th century:
New words are created all the time, often to fill a gap: There is a new situation, context, advancement, or evolution in how we think and care for each other, and a new word allows us to make quick reference to our new reality. Often, the new word addresses something that our ancestors couldn't have imagined generations or centuries ago. Here are a few words that are pretty "young" when it comes to the English language:
It's also really common for existing words to adopt new meanings. Sometimes this can happen really fast, but often a word has a couple possible meanings or interpretations, and one of those becomes more prominent, leading to another and another. Like a game of telephone that lasts centuries, changes in meaning can be really surprising-but just as our culture and sensibilities evolve, so do word meanings!
Language change and language innovation is inevitable, and that's a good thing! Even when political organizations and groups make decisions telling people how to use language or what is "acceptable" to do or say, these mandates might slow progress or spark debates, but language serves its users-not the other way around. And remember, every word in your vocabulary tells a story, so be intentional about the words you choose, no matter the language.