Watch Your Language
I am fairly sure that everyone is aware that it is not what we say, but the way we say it that has a big impact on people. If not, well that is a fact. The most common example is saying that someone has passed away instead of saying that someone has died. Both mean the same thing, but one just sounds better than the other. This idea of using certain language to appeal to certain groups of people is used everywhere in our lives, most heavily in politics and marketing. This idea about using certain language to appeal to certain groups of people was presented in The Persuaders, but even the average person would be aware of this even without having seen the program. From my perspective that is just stupid, choosing one over the other because one sounds nicer, when they mean the same thing.
Having done an exercise in class about the connotation of words, we are all guilty of choosing certain words over others because of their connotative meaning. We should not prefer certain words over others because of their connotative means because they mean the same thing. Slim and skinny mean the same thing. Global warming and climate change are the same thing, but for some reason the Republicans choose to use climate change because it appeals to the people better. This completely illogical on our part. Why should we prefer one word over the other word when they mean the same thing? Can you explain that? I certainly cannot explain why we choose certain words over others when they mean the same thing.
That preference of one word over another leads to problems as well. The most logical problem is that people begin to think that the two words are different. The Affordable Care Act and Obamacare. There were people who did not know that there was no difference between the two. In the end people thought there was a difference between the two. People liked the Affordable Care Act over Obamacare, when in reality they were the same exact thing. The same exact thing. On the flip side people disapproved of Obamacare, but approved of the Affordable Care Act. How can that happen? How can people not know the difference between the two? The answer is that people prefer one over the other. People have certain preferences towards things because of their connotative meaning, but then that has led to people incorrectly labeling two things as different, when they are in fact the same. Imagine if that happened a lot more. What if we thought the words "marijuana," and "cannabis," were different? Would we have voted to approve Proposition 19 instead? Do you see the potential problem faced with preferring certain words over other words that mean the same thing. Am I wrong to be worried about our use of certain words over others, is my reasoning fallacious?
Now let's look at what should happen when people try to use connotative meanings to separate two things that are the same. Remember back in January of this year, that person called Kellyanne Conway, tried to justify Sean Spicer's use of false numbers in his speech about Trump's inauguration? She tried to pass of what he said not as lies or falsehood, but as "alternative facts." Conway said in her interview with Chuck Todd, "You're saying it's a falsehood. And they're giving -- Sean Spicer, our press secretary -- gave alternative facts." Falsehood, and alternative facts are the same thing. Now Chuck Todd, called her out by saying that alternative facts is the same as falsehood. He did not let this go, and he made a point to make sure everyone new that alternative facts is the same as falsehood. We need to recognize that certain words and phrases mean the same exact thing no matter how much better they sound (do not get me wrong alternative facts sounded good). If Chuck Todd did not point this out, or worse catch this, then we would be left to believing that falsehood and alternative facts are separate things. That is a bit of a stretch, but we have already seen how preferring one over the other has led people to believe that two things are different, when they are in fact the same. Being able to recognize that two things mean the same thing is key to everyday life where people are always trying to convince you of things using different language to make it sound better.
Recognizing when different words are being used in an attempt to cover up the truth is key. The solution to this is to say what you mean, and not try to hide it behind different words which inevitably mean the same thing. That way the only way to hide what you actually mean is to say something else other than what you actually mean, thus losing its true purpose all together. I am not, and never have been a fan of making things sound better than they actually are by using different words. I always liked being straight to the point. I would hope that we all learn from the examples I provided about what we should not try to disguise what we mean with different words, and just state what we are actually trying to say.
CNN's article about alternative facts:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/politics/kellyanne-conway-alternative-facts/
Having done an exercise in class about the connotation of words, we are all guilty of choosing certain words over others because of their connotative meaning. We should not prefer certain words over others because of their connotative means because they mean the same thing. Slim and skinny mean the same thing. Global warming and climate change are the same thing, but for some reason the Republicans choose to use climate change because it appeals to the people better. This completely illogical on our part. Why should we prefer one word over the other word when they mean the same thing? Can you explain that? I certainly cannot explain why we choose certain words over others when they mean the same thing.
That preference of one word over another leads to problems as well. The most logical problem is that people begin to think that the two words are different. The Affordable Care Act and Obamacare. There were people who did not know that there was no difference between the two. In the end people thought there was a difference between the two. People liked the Affordable Care Act over Obamacare, when in reality they were the same exact thing. The same exact thing. On the flip side people disapproved of Obamacare, but approved of the Affordable Care Act. How can that happen? How can people not know the difference between the two? The answer is that people prefer one over the other. People have certain preferences towards things because of their connotative meaning, but then that has led to people incorrectly labeling two things as different, when they are in fact the same. Imagine if that happened a lot more. What if we thought the words "marijuana," and "cannabis," were different? Would we have voted to approve Proposition 19 instead? Do you see the potential problem faced with preferring certain words over other words that mean the same thing. Am I wrong to be worried about our use of certain words over others, is my reasoning fallacious?
Now let's look at what should happen when people try to use connotative meanings to separate two things that are the same. Remember back in January of this year, that person called Kellyanne Conway, tried to justify Sean Spicer's use of false numbers in his speech about Trump's inauguration? She tried to pass of what he said not as lies or falsehood, but as "alternative facts." Conway said in her interview with Chuck Todd, "You're saying it's a falsehood. And they're giving -- Sean Spicer, our press secretary -- gave alternative facts." Falsehood, and alternative facts are the same thing. Now Chuck Todd, called her out by saying that alternative facts is the same as falsehood. He did not let this go, and he made a point to make sure everyone new that alternative facts is the same as falsehood. We need to recognize that certain words and phrases mean the same exact thing no matter how much better they sound (do not get me wrong alternative facts sounded good). If Chuck Todd did not point this out, or worse catch this, then we would be left to believing that falsehood and alternative facts are separate things. That is a bit of a stretch, but we have already seen how preferring one over the other has led people to believe that two things are different, when they are in fact the same. Being able to recognize that two things mean the same thing is key to everyday life where people are always trying to convince you of things using different language to make it sound better.
Recognizing when different words are being used in an attempt to cover up the truth is key. The solution to this is to say what you mean, and not try to hide it behind different words which inevitably mean the same thing. That way the only way to hide what you actually mean is to say something else other than what you actually mean, thus losing its true purpose all together. I am not, and never have been a fan of making things sound better than they actually are by using different words. I always liked being straight to the point. I would hope that we all learn from the examples I provided about what we should not try to disguise what we mean with different words, and just state what we are actually trying to say.
CNN's article about alternative facts:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/22/politics/kellyanne-conway-alternative-facts/
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