(no subject)
I was reading a blog about how the word "gay" has been stolen by the homosexual community... how it used to be good word, and blah blah blah. Dumb people complain about this a lot, as if they're used to throwing the word "gay" around, and now they can't. Maybe back in 1923, pal, but newsflash: words change. English isn't a dead language, yet... it's still evolving. In fact, the word "gay" is undergoing another change, I think. At least among my generation (the 20-30s of today) there's been this tendency to use the word in the negative. Not in the way you'd think, where you're calling an actual homosexual "a damn gay queer" or something, but just in everyday use:
"Yeah, I saw Garfield: The Movie. It was really, really gay." Or "Did you stub your toe? Damn, that's gay, dude."
Obviously, it started off being a slam against homosexuals... if, in middle school, some guy was being irritating, people would just tell him to shut up and quit acting gay. But it's evolved over time, and now a word that originally meant happy, now has almost the exact opposite meaning. Today, at least among people my age, gays are becoming almost completely accepted, but the word "gay" has come to equal the word "lame." Even though our words define basic concepts, I think it's fascinating how we're able to keep concepts separate from words. In fact, it's fascinating that we're able to mentally separate "gay = homosexual = fine by me!"; "gay = lame = bad"; and "lame= handicapped = bad in a different way."
Yes, I am a language nerd. But it's so damn interesting!
"Yeah, I saw Garfield: The Movie. It was really, really gay." Or "Did you stub your toe? Damn, that's gay, dude."
Obviously, it started off being a slam against homosexuals... if, in middle school, some guy was being irritating, people would just tell him to shut up and quit acting gay. But it's evolved over time, and now a word that originally meant happy, now has almost the exact opposite meaning. Today, at least among people my age, gays are becoming almost completely accepted, but the word "gay" has come to equal the word "lame." Even though our words define basic concepts, I think it's fascinating how we're able to keep concepts separate from words. In fact, it's fascinating that we're able to mentally separate "gay = homosexual = fine by me!"; "gay = lame = bad"; and "lame= handicapped = bad in a different way."
Yes, I am a language nerd. But it's so damn interesting!