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So who here remembers 1984? Not the year, where some of you hit puberty. No, we surely don't want to remind you of that! I mean the book.

Everybody makes reference to it. "Big Brother is Watching". Strike a bell? Of course it does.

However, when I first read 1984, I was more interested in the idea that language had become extremely simplified. Everyone spoke in near monosyllables, and adjectives were thrown out, instead people used a hierachy of basic words to describe something very grand. See below.

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We are now at a stage in urban culture where the language of the general public has become grunts and barely discernable babble. Linguistically speaking, we are at an all time low. What's worse is that the dumber you sound, the more cooler you become. You don't believe me? Go watch a little bit of BET (Black Entertainment Television). Before I get flamed for being called a bigot and a racist, let me start by saying that I happen to like rap and hip-hop. I listen to it quite a bit, ever since in high school, simply because I like the beats, and some of the lyrics are witty and inventive. However, look at the majority of the so-called rap artists today. Most if not every "rap-star" ends their sentence with youKnowWhatI'mSayin'. I've heard some guy say that phrase five times in one sentence. I was so annoyed, I wanted to grab the guy by the throat and scream "No, you idiot, I don't know what you're saying. So stoping asking me if I do, and try to explain it to me in understandable, everyday, non 'Ebony-fied' English!!"

More dire, is the fact that most of these songs must use incorrectly spelt words for it to be "in". Take for example the song "Bout Dat". Unfortunately, I don't have the lyrics in front of me, nor can I remeber verbatim how the words go. But the gist of the song is something like -> "Benz and Rolls Royce, we bout dat. Chicks and hos (meaing prostitutes, but could also be girls who are too materialistic), we bout dat." Well you get the idea. The artist, and I use that term very loosely, is trying to tell the audience that he and his friends are into making money and meeting beautiful girls. That's why they're bout dat. I could almost forgive them if the song was " 'bout that". At least it's contextually correct, even though it's still rather silly.

There's also a song called "Whoa." It states (again, I'm paraphrasing): Each time someone sees anything out of the norm, be it the freaky or just rare, you reply with "Whoa." For example, if you see a person almost get hit by a freight train, only to miss by the hair on his chinny chin chin, you should say "Whoa." If a fine looking specimen of the opposite sex looks over and gives you a wink; "Whoa." If you got an F in your midterm, and you really needed 'A' to pass grade 9.... "Whoa." If you can't read a complete sentence without wetting your shorts, you guessed it! "Whoa." Nothing else needs to be said. From now on, all your amazment, fustration, anger, or bewilderment can be summed up in one single tidy little syllable. How's that for being concise?

Then there are the urban phrases that are being more mainstream. When did we socially accept that "bling bling" expresses a windfall in materialistic wealth? Using it in a sentence: "We just made some bling bling in the Tech sector." or, "I just landed a new job with a salary of fifty thousands dollars a year. Bling bling." Also, It is possible to use "bling" as a verb. "Our company is bling blinging, because I just closed a huge deal with the Johnson's account."

Look at shows like "The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire". Everyone thought that Will Smith was a cool guy. He was totally in sync with the popular urban culture of that time, as opposed to poor old Carlton, who dare I say: "wasn't black enough." Why? Because he didn't walk with a cocky bounce, wear a bandana, with his pants wrapped around his ankles, and instead of using street lingo, chose to annunciate his words properly? Okay, the 80's preppy look could go, it is rather poor in taste, but the rest of him was just fine. I know he wasn't the stereotypical black teen, and that's the gag, but my challenge to you is: What is a typical teenager, be s/he black or otherwise?? I think the person who doesn't strive to make him/herself a better presented individual should be the atypical one, rather than the norm.

I know that language cannot stay static forever; all languages evolve with the times. If it didn't, we wouldn't have to suffer through Shakespear in high school. Still, I don't like what I'm hearing and seeing in the media. We're stultifying the English language to a point where we look like fools and ignoramuses (ignorami??) who can't string a proper sentence together without resorting to profanity and catch phrases. Even old people now know the phrase "Wazzup!" So let's stop and reverse the trend before it's too late. I don't want to live in a word where the majority of people only know 100 commonly used words, and that's it. It's not double plus good!

I want us to read more, to learn more, and to incorporate less oft-used words in our daily conversations and writing, be it in the English language or otherwise. Not only will it make you appear more intelligent, but you can gain a level of sophistication in society that could never be achieved otherwise.

....YouKnowWhatI'mSayin'? posted by losir at 7:05 PM