Is the English language becoming a grey form of communication?

Question

For exam the use of "You" makes the reader uncertain of the subject, is it me or you or us or people in general.
When we use words do we think about the meaning that will be perceived by others?

What is your point of view and do you have any example of miscommunication.

Jack of all trades
Eloquent, but a little presumptuous and pretentious in the use of we.

Answer 1

Languages tend to develop toward the less precise. Yes, I think English is doing this as well. Some people choose their words carefully and some do not.

Answer 2

The English language changes every day. "You" can mean the person spoken to or people in general. The audience has to decide based on the context in which the word is used. Obviously, we do that, and we do that pretty well and mostly without thinking about it.

Most people seldom think about the emotional impact of each individual word they use in writing or in speech. And, most of the time, it really doesn't matter. Once again, the context of the statement instantly clears up confusion of meaning. Example: If I say, "you're crazy" to my friend who just put ketchup on his ice cream, he would probably assume I mean he did something silly or maybe even a little dumb. He would probably think, and correctly too, that I was talking in a joking manner, and not making a psychiatric evaluation. If I say, "you're crazy" to a man who just cut me off in traffic, I could be getting myself into some trouble.

If were writing a book or a poem or preparing a speech or proposing marriage, I might take the time to consider every word I used. In day to day communication, it is not possible nor is it necessary.

Answer 3

If it is a problem it probably lies with the speakers usage of English rather than the language itself.

The example of the usage of "You" points in that direction. Often used when people really mean he/she, they/them, or us/we.

"You" is perfectly clear if used correctly.

As a Brit I can say "Thats a really good idea" and imply at least 4 different meanings to another Brit: That's not grey that's "rainbow".

- enthusiasm, irony, sarcism, or condemnation. Depending on my inflection and word emphasise. Won't work in the States.

We are loosing that as that bloody aweful interogative inflection ( every statement becomes a "question") is swamping everything.

In conclusion only a bad craftsman blames his tools.

1 minute spent looking at how many questions on this site are phrased should give you enough examples for a life time.

Answer 4

No, it isn't. In spoken face to face communication real ambiguity is rare. Speech creates its own context and those involved in a conversation understand one another perfectly well most of the time. Have you ever really misunderstood anyone's use of 'you'? Seriously? I doubt it.

The problem is in writing. Most people are used to the spoken mode of communication in which feedback is instant. In writing you are usually separated from your reader in time and place and maybe acquaintanceship, and you have to get into the mindset of thinking about what your reader knows and does not know and how much responsibility you have to create context for him/her. This requires thought and practice and reflection.

There is nothing wrong with the language - it is not becoming grey, debased, cliched or any of the rest of the stuff you hear from prophets of doom. But the young people I teach do not revise drafts of their papers and essays, or work at developing the ability to communicate well in writing, as much as they could. The resource is not diminished.

You can't blame the hatred of the KKK on poor language skills. You can only blame it on poor reasoning. Consider the Westboro Baptist Church - Fred Phelps is highly articulate and Shirley Phelps-Roper is even more so, but their beliefs are utterly whacky. It's the more linguistically sophisticated that can expound crackpot interpretations of religious texts and be listened to.

Answer 5

I will be back to discuss this. I think it is interesting as well as important on so many levels. :) I need some time to lay out my thoughts.

I am back... finally. :)

This is so long... I apologize in advance. :)

Language is our main form of communication. It is crucial to the well being of society. I do not think that people, in general, respect language the way it should be respected. They don’t seem to understand how important it is.

People may not think it is important to attend to what they are saying, but I would ask: How many times has a “misunderstanding” led to conflict in your life?

When we speak to one another, face to face, it is fully possible to not only think about what we are going to say before we say it but to continue to think about what we are saying while we are saying it. The way we formulate our thoughts for verbal expression flows over into our writing. If we practice “thinking” while we speak, we will be even better at it when we write.

I want to clear one thing up. Some people seem to focus on using colloquialisms as their understanding of how we change word meanings, as in the example given by jack: “you’re crazy.” It is true that there are things we say that depend on context to give them meaning. But, I don’t think those things are necessarily the problem. Just as I don’t think that was what Arnicalupus was getting at.

The problem stems from people using words incorrectly regardless of context. They do this simply because they do not know that they are using those words incorrectly. The incorrect meaning of the word then becomes widely accepted as the meaning of the word. An example of this is the word “since.” Most people used this word incorrectly on a regular basis. They used it in place of “because” so much that the word “since” has now come to mean “because.” In fact, dictionaries now reflect this. So, why is this a problem? It can hamper our ability to understand.

I can think of one imperative example to illustrate how this can be problematic - interpretation of the Bible (or other religious works). Considering how much stock people put in this book, the ramifications of poor understanding via faulty translation are astounding. This very book, upon which society rests, is perhaps one of the most widely differentially translated pieces of literature that exists. It is the very foundation of what so many people hold to be absolute truth. Yet, that truth varies dependant on with whom you speak. I am sure I don’t need to go into all the problems that have arisen because of it.

I will give an example of one thing that really brought this into focus for me. Several years ago, I was walking by a TV. I happened to notice that a talk show was on. The guests that day were members of the KKK. The hatred that was flying in that TV studio caught my attention so I stopped to watch. The KKK members were claiming that they believed as they did because it was in the Bible that they should. They were quoting Bible verse after Bible verse to support their ideology. Of course, it was nonsense. What became very clear to me was that the language skills of all of the members were poor. Even the “leader” wasn’t very adept. Yet, these people were interpreting the Bible. And all that hatred… for what reason? Poor language skills.

I think I have rambled on more than enough at this point, so I will leave it at this. This is certainly a topic that needs more time and space than is available to me now. Hopefully, though, I was able to relay how I arrive at my way of thinking and speaking.

To answer your 1st questions…

I have never thought of it as becoming gray before, but in light of the things I just said, I think I have to agree with you.

To answer your 2nd question…

Yes, I always think about how the things I say will be perceived.

You made me think. Thanks for the great question!

Edit:
Vilg - Don't jump to conclusions. I was giving my impression of one particluar situation. I was not generalizing to all KKK members or to any other events involving them.