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RE: Here's The Thing... About Nice.

in #writing10 months ago

I find the etymology of words utterly fascinating and this one is a great one! Don't forget we usually say 'oh she's sooooooooo nice' as we need a modifier to recify how inspid 'nice' is.

Language of course is also political. There's a lot of angst about the 'woke movement' forcing a change in language deemed offensive, to which the anti-woke rally and decry. How dare they change 'what always was', the snowflakes! Yet arguably, language needs to change as culture does. If a word has been used to oppress, of course we need to change how the word is used, or if it is used at all. It's why I'm not really an advocate for extreme freedom of speech.

Language is constantly evolving, and it boggles me that people might get upset about new words or new ways of using words as they feel it bastardises the language. But as your post attests, language is always being bastardised.

I always found it super hard to be an English teacher and teach certain grammar rules for that reason. Why can't you play with a verb and use it as a noun? Why can't you start a sentence with an 'and' or write a whole story without speech marks? 'Learn the rules then you can break them' theory?

By the way, side note - have you heard of Toki Pona? I enjoy this guy too.

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thank you. I'll have a wee look at the video later today. and the politics of language is fascinating - I may do one on the Scots language and why, depsite being a sister language to English, it was deemed iimpolitic

I'll keep an eye out for it, and I am sure you'll enjoy his videos.