Democracy is Everywhere
Democracy Envelops Us!
Saturday, 21.01.2006I've been exposed to a lot of information about the concept of "democracy" lately due to my presence on the school debate team--one of the standard defenses in debate against an opponent is that their case will prevent the spread of democracy. And then, the claim follows that spreading democracy will ensure world peace, economic strength, and less conflicts. Sure. Suuuuuure. But, that's not what I'm worried about.
It got me thinking, "What would really happen if democracy was as widespread as proposed?" Luckily there's one example of this: language. The way one speaks is something anybody can change, and it's essentially a vote toward changing the structure of the language as it stands; an argument against the status quo. Now, take into account that you might be able to affect other people to speak with the same (or some) mannerisms that you choose, and you have the basic essence of a democratic system: whatever's done by the majority is accepted better than what the minority says.
Instead of changing something in real life, the democracy of language affects those who document it: dictionaries. (It'd be nice if talk could change things; oh how easy it'd make things. But alas. Many people think that dictionaries are definitive sources of words; that's not their true purpose, though. Their role in the world is to document the accepted standard forms of phrases and words that people actually use and implement--this is why words such as "Hi-Fi" and ""lolita" have started appearing in Merriam-Webster.
So, you're participating in a democracy right now that rules over dictionaries. Congratulations.
Now, dictionaries seem to be a very funny thing, since they rule over what's considered proper English. Walk into school with an essay made up of your words, and it'll get thrown out, no doubt about it, despite the fact that, well, you have every right to make up words.
I think that the English and other language departments across the world are missing the point of language--language is supposed to communicate, nothing else. What that communication looks or sounds like doesn't really matter, as long as it gets its point across. These people don't realize that they're the ones controlling the language, not the dictionaries, and definitely not the textbooks.
One argument against making up words as you go, I guess, would be the fact that nobody else other than yourself would have any idea what they mean. They wouldn't be recorded anywhere, and it'd inhibit communication. That's where the internet comes in, and it can help a lot here--you could publish your own site with a list of words you and your friends have made up, and wait for it to spread to everybody. The word "jibble" took this route. Or even better, you could contribute it to a central source like The Jargon File or Wikitionary (the last one being particularly appealing, since it is open and people can find out what your word means starting now). Print dictionaries reflect an old ideology of a central system ruling over the language; they don't really hold any authority at all, but are quite useful for the words they have.
That brings me back to one point about schools of English--they have a considerable bias towards old terminology and well-established words; they ignore the actions of our new democracy, and in some cases, see it as a monarchy. The good 'ol bard, Shakespeare, wrote down many words in his plays which he invented, and because of that, they are accepted into the vernacular. Now, as a democracy, it certainly isn't fair that his words take precedence over ours, especially if he made them up on a whim. Teachers around the world grant him the claims to contrivance of over 2000 words--that's probably because he didn't live in an age where people could tell him what words to use or not to use. If every person were even given the chance to be freeform with their speech and have it accepted in general usage, I reckon that every person would at least have a couple hundred words to their name.
Now, some people would say that Shakespeare's whimsical words are accepted because he had influence, and anybody who was anybody back in the day would watch his plays and adopt those new mannerisms. Perhaps. But certainly, nobody in this day and age has such absolute popularity; the ability of one person to dictate new vocabulary has passed.
This is why you should cast your vote in this democracy of English; make up a word and use it! Not a soul can prevent you!