Verbal ugliness
Name(s):
Linguistic sloppiness
Nature
Educated individuals are no longer immune to the trappings of linguistic error and verbal ugliness. Particularly in the last few decades, educational systems have experienced a de-emphasis on grammatical rules and bylines of expression. Consequently students may learn to express themselves by using the first words that come to mind, and not those that are most lucid. Such linguistic carelessness may find its way through the mouths of journalists, teachers and politicians, only to reinforce and proliferate verbal errors.
Claim
1. Language is the most profound instrument of human expression. When individuals are linguistically careless, meaning is misunderstood. Over time misunderstanding alters and eventually reduces a language. The media, in an attempt to market novelty in language, may be partially accountable for the promotion of linguistic sloppiness.
2. It is with words as with sunbeams, the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn. (Robert Southey).
Counter-claim
Language alters with time. When old expressions and meanings die, new ones are born. Such evolution enriches a language. Freedom of expression without strict grammatical regulation, is a means by which individuals communicate more effectively and realistically. Such expression eliminates the need for elitist jargon.
Broader
Narrower
Reduces
Aggravates
Corruption of meaning [in 14 loops]
Loss of linguistic tradition [in 2 loops]
Language as a barrier to communication [in 24 loops]
Aggravated by
Strategy(ies)
Value(s)
Type
(F) Fuzzy exceptional problems