Anything wears out by long use and words are no exception to this general law.
As we fix new parts to a vehicle when the old ones are worn out, we ought to fit the vehicle of language also with new words, dumping the old ones. Only then language flourishes and it would not be tedious to use certain words.
Let us first do away with the euphemistic words like Preventive Detention Law, which had crept into the legal jargon and stuck.
When we mean by Preventive Detention Act that bad people can be arrested, why can't we rename the act as Anticipatory Crimes Act and make the language spicier? This fresh coinage also makes the same sense as the old ones. When a cop sniffs that so and so is bad enough to stab a person or rape a woman or steal the dupatta of a damsel and may threaten the peace of the locality, such person is put behind the bars. Hence the word Anticipatory Crimes Act fits well in such cases, as spectacles fit your nose. Similarly, The Divorce Act may be renamed as Couples Falling Apart Act, which is easier to understand than the Latin word divorce.
In science also insipid words like gravitational law may be changed into apple falling law and theory of relativity may be rewritten as kitchen tongs law. Newton was inspired to formulate the gravitational law on seeing an apple falling from the tree and Einstein was encouraged to develop his theory of relativity only on seeing a pair of tongs.
Just imagine how pleasing these new coinages will be to the ears, only if we accept them. But the nostalgic attachment of the oldies to worn out words comes in the way of welcoming the fresh coinages. So, if the young ones take the lead, the grandpas may follow suit, of course with a grumble. No doubt, these new coinages will make English language richer.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Worn out Words
Anything wears out by long use and words are no exception to this general law.
As we fix new parts to a vehicle when the old ones are worn out, we ought to fit the vehicle of language also with new words, dumping the old ones. Only then language flourishes and it would not be tedious to use certain words.
Let us first do away with the euphemistic words like Preventive Detention Law, which had crept into the legal jargon and stuck.
When we mean by Preventive Detention Act that bad people can be arrested, why can't we rename the act as Anticipatory Crimes Act and make the language spicier? This fresh coinage also makes the same sense as the old ones. When a cop sniffs that so and so is bad enough to stab a person or rape a woman or steal the dupatta of a damsel and may threaten the peace of the locality, such person is put behind the bars. Hence the word Anticipatory Crimes Act fits well in such cases, as spectacles fit your nose. Similarly, The Divorce Act may be renamed as Couples Falling Apart Act, which is easier to understand than the Latin word divorce.
In science also insipid words like gravitational law may be changed into apple falling law and theory of relativity may be rewritten as kitchen tongs law. Newton was inspired to formulate the gravitational law on seeing an apple falling from the tree and Einstein was encouraged to develop his theory of relativity only on seeing a pair of tongs.
Just imagine how pleasing these new coinages will be to the ears, only if we accept them. But the nostalgic attachment of the oldies to worn out words comes in the way of welcoming the fresh coinages. So, if the young ones take the lead, the grandpas may follow suit, of course with a grumble. No doubt, these new coinages will make English language richer.
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