Central Argument: Generations and time affect the ways in which the English language changes.
Once upon a time, words were invented as a way to communicate. Each language had its own sounds and noises that came together to mean certain things. Overtime, however, these words have been modified and come to mean slightly different things than what they originally were intended to mean; such as “awesome” and “terrible”. In Shakespeare’s classic literature you can see perfect examples of how overtime the English language has changed. Words shift together as part of a system all the time and, as time passes, one can see how evolution is not only in science but in language too.
The word “awesome” is a great example of evolution in the English language. At first, it was an awe-inspiring word but it has now become a nearly meaningless bit of verbiage referring to anything even mildly good. The first time “awesome” appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1598 when it was a description for someone feeling awe. In 1980 it was again defined in the Official Preppy Handbook as terrific, great. One can see the drastic change that went from the original meaning of “awesome” to the now current meaning overtime. The word “awesome” has now become a default descriptor for anything good; however, it originally was exclusively used for awe-inspiring things like God. This is a common thing seen throughout the English, as well as many other, languages. Like “terrible” used to have a strong connection to terror, then it referred to something shockingly bad, and today it means something just plain bad. Words are always shifting, modifying, changing, as part of unit, under cover. Nobody really notices it happening until decades, even centuries later. “Terrible” begins to mean “bad”, so “awesome” must replace “terrible”. Then “awesome” becomes “excellent”, so “awe-inspiring” has to fill the space left behind. Then teenagers hear their parents saying “awesome”, and it becomes the last thing they want to say. So new words are roped in, like “sick” meaning “great” and so on. Words do have definition but they are very malleable ones.
If one is to take a look through Shakespeare’s works, such as Romeo and Juliet or The Tempest, one can see many examples in which the English language has been simplified and changed in dramatic ways. An example would be in The Tempest when the Master is talking to Boatswain during the great storm that causes them to crash onto the island. The Master is telling Boatswain to give the other sailors a pep talk and to do it fast, before they’re shipwrecked. Then he says to Boatswain, “Bestir, bestir.” In a modern translation this would mean “Hurry, hurry.” “Bestir” today means to become active or arouse, but in the 16th century, when it was used in The Tempest, it meant move with haste or “hurry”. Another example is in Shakespeare’s classic play Romeo and Juliet. In the beginning, when Sampson is speaking with Gregory, one can see a shift in the meaning of the word “move”. In the play, it means “anger” in a modern translation. One can see the modification that has come of the word “move”. Today it means to go in a specific direction or manner, which isn’t even close to the meaning of anger, which is what William Shakespeare intended on “move” meaning when he wrote the script. These two examples are just a couple that show what great changes have come over the English languages in time.
In conclusion, words change their meaning like girls change their clothes. Nobody knows when the transformation will occur, but it does happen for every word. Then another word has to replace what that word originally meant and the modifying chain of words continues. Evolution not only affects people, but the English language as well.
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