Words are funny things. Whole worlds have been changed by them. So what new words can you being to this most tyring of times.

Words and actions are interlinked. Let me tell you a story:

One Saturday evening in mid June about a decade ago a very important Celebratory Dinner was held at the famous Sheraton Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona to honour the various American Indian tribes.

The Chiefs of the various tribes attended, all in their splendid costumes, with full-feathered headgear, et cetera. Many celebrities had been invited as guests to this event, and among them was the famous American comedian, Billy Crystal.

Well, the way Billy tells the story, he found himself sitting at the dinner table next to one of the feathered Indian Chiefs, and feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

As Billy explains, "I didn't know how to talk to this guy. The only thing that I knew about American Indians was what I had seen in American Western Movies. So all night during dinner, I spoke like Tonto to this guy."

You know, "You pass 'em butter. You pass 'em bread. You like 'em have more wine?" And so on.

This went on all night until it came to Speech Time. Well, this Chief stood up and made the most eloquent speech Billy had ever heard in the English Language! Sheer Poetry! With Billy feeling like an idiot by the minute.

When the Chief had finished, he sat back down next to Billy, turned to him with a sweet smile and asked,

"You like 'em speech?

con'td ...

There is a widespread use of ephemism and jargon to conceal rather than reveal meaning.

Adds tell of a car that is "affordable" and "previously owned," meaning less expensive and used.

Politicians speak of the need for "revenue enhancement," meaning a tax increase.

Hospitals records a "negative patient-care outcome," meaning that the patient died.

Corporations report a "negative contribution to profits," which means a loss.

Military statements tell of "air support," which is bombing, and
"pacification," which is making war.

We have learned of an "energetic disassembly and rapid oxidation" at a nuclear power plant, which turned out to be an explosion and a fire.

And the event in which hundreds of millions of living human beings might be annihilated is called a "nuclear exchange" as if it involved no more than some sort of technological swap.

All these linguistic usages are calculated to, and do, predispose us to see things in a less concerned way. Language and culture, are in constant interaction: culture influences the structure and use of language, and language can influence cultural interpretations of reality.

When bombs are referred to as "little boys," missiles are "peacemakers" and human beings are "soft targets" in our media,
new ways of thinking and talking are desperately needed.

I just remembered a cartoon I saw in a magazine that I thought you may appreciate.

A couple were having a 'romantic evening supper'
near a pond amongst the reeds. The table was set with two champagne glasses and the female was in evening dress while the male was a creature that looked like he came from the 'black-lagoon.' The caption read:

"Well, actually, Doreen, I rather resent being called a 'swamp thing...' I prefer the term 'wetlands-challenged mutant.'

Is that the best you have got Foxy. You have let me down.LOL
The moral of words can be held by those who know them.
I have a little story just for you.
A man went to the markets to buy some veges and when he arrived at the first stall, he noticed that all the fruit was damaged. So he politely asked, where did all this produce come from, and the man said, it comes from all over the world. The man thought for a while, and then he said, what is the pick of the day, and the man said, its your choice. Scratching his head with confusion, the man just walked away. Then later on he realized he had made a big mistake "and what was that mistake" He asked the opinion from a stranger. Well I guess he got what he deserved.

Foxy! I think words with absences of face will only leed to one thing.
Confusion!
I would like you to teach me how you profile someone with just words to work from?

All the best to you for the new year.

P/S No one ever gets it right in this world, but to have a go, can only be admired.

Dear evolution,

Thank you for the confusion!

Could you perhaps enlighten us all?

No I can do that! Iam just not as smart as you.

Dear evolution,

That's unfortunate.

However, Thank You for your wise words and,
Goodbye, Zaijian, Bonsoir, Adieu, Auf Wiedersehen, Arrivederci,
Do Svidanya and Adios...

Don't be like that Foxy! I would miss your insights very much so. To be open minded, is to be human, and no one can blame you or anyone else for that. This is what this site is all about, and its not a case of you verses me, but more on the lines of what the best for human kind. May your god be with you. If you are a island of right, then we must be all wrong.

Be happy and love all that you see, it doesnt mean we have to like it.

Dear evolution,

I'm not trying to "be like that." I think that there has been a misunderstanding here. You gave the topic of this thread as "words."
And I took it seriously. I gave you several examples of how words predispose us to make particular interpretations of reality. Which was what I thought you wanted.

Yet you asked, "Is that all you've got?" I didn't realize that this was some sort of competition . I thought you wanted the forum's
contributors thoughts on the topic. Which is what I gave you.

Language to me is the keystone to culture. Without it, culture could not exist. Culture, by definition, is shared, and without the medium of the spoken word, complex patterns of thought, emotion, knowledge, and belief could not be passed from individual to individual or generation to generation.

When an animal dies, everything it has learned from experience perishes with it. But language gives human beings a history - access to the social experience and accumulated knowledge of the generations that have gone before.

Equally important, language enables us to give meaning to the world.
Events in themselves have no meaning: we impose meaning on them by interpreting the evidence of our senses. Without language, all but the most rudimentary forms of thought are impossible. With language we can apply reason to the world. We can think logically from premises to conclusions: we can categorize; we can order our experience; we can contemplate the past and the future; the abstract and the hypothetical; we can formulate and utter ideas that are entirely new. Nearly all that we learn in human culture is learned through language in social interaction with others.

It is through language that we become cultured and thus fully human.

But, if you still don't understand what I was trying to say, or you really think that I'm "smarter than you," well that I can't do anything about.

Happy New Year and may 2008 be a good year for us all!

Words - their meanings, etymology, changing status, altered meanings - all are a passion of mine.

Teaching in a university where English is a second language therefore is a constant learning process for me and gives me insights I never had before. I learn lessons about the difference between spoken and written English words almost daily and have come to realise just how language barriers are erected.

In my own University I noticed how the Chinese students never intermingled with the Westerners and learned of the bias on both sides which prevented this. The Chinese, it was believed, were elitist, stand-offish and uninterested in integration. The Westerners in turn were thought to be exclusionary, unfriendly, rude and uninterested in integration. Yet talking to groups from both camps did not support these views and both sides genuinely showed curiosity and a willingness to integrate.

To simplify - it could all be said to be the fault of outdated text-books!.

I have students in class who, when describing a mate, will refer to them as "comely" or "amiable". Food is always "delicious" or "tasty",
and the response to any greeting whatsoever is "I'm fine thanks and you?"

Imagine then when one of these kids walks up to a group of Western peers and, in response to a laconic "What's happening?" or "G'day" responds, formally and politely "I'm fine thanks, and you?" Then goes on to compliment one on their comely appearance, thanks another for their amiability in inviting them to a delicious meal and earnestly starts searching in a hip pocket for change when asked to "Gimme Five".

As a consequence I have learned that to teach language without teaching culture as well has done many of these people a disservice and that the differences between spoken and written words must be driven home clearly.

Sad that words are unwittingly helping erect barriers rather than overcoming them.

Hi Foxy, you gave the right examples and its my fault for the misunderstanding, I just didn't understand what your little story was about, so I better get right to the point. Where will it all end to the multiple meanings for words. Will the dictionary grow in size or will it become smaller as time goes on. And also, how can one make a clear interpretation of what we read on the net, without the added advantages of the human face?

And as you maybe aware, some threads on here fall into disarray because of the lack of human expressions to go with the words.
I don't think text messages is such a hot idea either, so where will it all end and what will be the chosen tongue of the future?
Maybe abbreviations could be the new words, cause the dictionary is getting a little thick.

Dear Romany and Evolution,

I can fully appreciate the language problems that foreign students encounter. I am from a European family background where English was a second language. And at school I was penalized and considered unintelligent because my language appeared ungrammatical. Most of my teachers had middle-class values and attitudes and displayed bias against certain students. We were considered as "bad" students, regardless of our intelligence and ability.

Once a child is labeled a dull student, a self-fulfilling prophecy follows. "Lower-ability" children are placed in slower-tracks, or ability groups, and counseled to make "realistic" career choices.

It was only thanks to my mother who fought the system every step of the way - that I was allowed to matriculate and eventually won a scholarship to uni.

So yes, Dear Evolution, - You are absolutely correct. It is important to put "faces" with words. Something I had forgotten to do, and
I should have remembered from my own experience in life.

As for the future of words? I think we will keep on evolving as we continue to do. New words are constantly being added - along with new meanings and interpretations. They say that the only constant in life is change - and this will continue.

Romany and foxy! We can all see what is going on, but little we can do about it. "Your heart is the world" and I know it!...................................... I guess its going to take some time befour youth understands the truth!

I think off the top of my head, But I guess the world is still full of sheep people.

All the best with your thoughts.