George Carlin on soft language
Summary
TLDRThe speaker passionately criticizes the use of euphemisms in American English, arguing that they obscure reality and reflect a discomfort with facing the truth. They trace the evolution of terms for combat stress from 'shell shock' to 'post-traumatic stress disorder,' illustrating how language has become increasingly sterile and detached from the harshness of the conditions described. The talk also covers other examples of euphemistic language in various aspects of life, from medical to social terms, suggesting that this linguistic trend sanitizes and distances us from the rawness of human experience.
Takeaways
- 🗣️ The speaker dislikes euphemisms and believes they obscure reality, particularly in American English.
- 🌐 The language used to describe combat stress has evolved from 'shell shock' to 'post-traumatic stress disorder', reflecting a trend towards more euphemistic terms.
- 🔁 Each generation seems to adopt softer language to describe harsh realities, as evidenced by the changing terms for combat stress.
- 🏥 Everyday language also becomes more euphemistic over time, with terms like 'toilet paper' becoming 'bathroom tissue' and 'car crashes' becoming 'automobile accidents'.
- 🏢 Corporate and institutional language often strips away the human element, using terms like 'healthcare delivery professional' instead of 'doctor'.
- 💼 The speaker criticizes the use of euphemisms in business and management, such as 'fired' becoming 'curtailed redundancies'.
- 🔫 In politics and conflict, euphemisms are used to sanitize violent actions, like 'neutralize' instead of 'kill'.
- 🌉 The speaker mocks the absurdity of some euphemisms, suggesting they are a form of self-deception and societal denial.
- 👴 Aging and death are subjects that society avoids directly, using terms like 'senior citizens' and 'passing away' instead of直面老化和死亡.
- 🤢 The speaker expresses strong distaste for the euphemistic language, suggesting it can be nauseating and dishonest.
Q & A
What is the speaker's opinion on euphemisms in American English?
-The speaker dislikes euphemisms and believes that American English is loaded with them, which are used to conceal reality and protect people from facing the truth.
How does the speaker illustrate the evolution of language to soften the impact of war-related conditions?
-The speaker provides a historical progression from 'shell shock' in WWI to 'post-traumatic stress disorder' in the Vietnam War, showing how the language has become more euphemistic and detached from the harsh realities it describes.
What is the speaker's view on the use of 'bathroom tissue' instead of 'toilet paper'?
-The speaker sees the change from 'toilet paper' to 'bathroom tissue' as an unnecessary and deceptive shift in language that attempts to sanitize or beautify everyday terms.
Why does the speaker believe that changing the term for certain conditions doesn't change the conditions themselves?
-The speaker argues that changing the name of a condition doesn't alter its reality, and that people are being misled into thinking that linguistic changes can have a positive impact on the actual issues.
What does the speaker think about the term 'physically challenged' as opposed to 'crippled'?
-The speaker finds the term 'physically challenged' to be a grotesque evasion of the truth and prefers the straightforward language of 'crippled', which he believes carries no inherent shame.
How does the speaker feel about the phrase 'senior citizens'?
-While the speaker has accepted 'senior citizens' as a term that will persist, he still resists it, seeing it as a bloodless and lifeless phrase that lacks the reality of aging.
What is the speaker's stance on the use of '90 years young' to describe an elderly person?
-The speaker criticizes the use of '90 years young' as it reveals a fear of aging and an attempt to avoid the reality of old age.
Why does the speaker find the language used by certain institutions and groups to be problematic?
-The speaker finds the language used by institutions and groups to be problematic because it often serves to conceal the truth, mislead, or sanitize reality, which he believes is dishonest and harmful.
What examples does the speaker give of how language has changed to make harsh realities more palatable?
-The speaker gives examples such as 'the dump' becoming 'the landfill', 'car crashes' becoming 'automobile accidents', and 'poor people' becoming 'economically disadvantaged', showing how language has evolved to soften the impact of these realities.
How does the speaker feel about the trend of using more complex terms to describe conditions or situations?
-The speaker is critical of this trend, arguing that it removes the humanity and直面 the reality of the situations, making them sound more sterile and less impactful.
Outlines
🗣️ The Erosion of Honest Language
The speaker expresses a strong dislike for euphemisms and the trend in American English to use soft language that obscures reality. They argue that this trend is worsening with each generation. The speaker provides a historical example of how the term for a combat stress reaction has evolved from 'shell shock' in WWI to 'battle fatigue' in WWII, 'operational exhaustion' in the Korean War, and finally to 'post-traumatic stress disorder' in the Vietnam War. This progression illustrates a move away from direct and honest language to more sterile and less impactful terms. The speaker suggests that this linguistic shift could have real-world consequences, such as affecting how veterans receive attention and care.
😅 Euphemisms and the Fear of Directness
Continuing the theme of language that avoids直面 reality, the speaker humorously critiques the use of euphemisms in everyday language, pointing out how terms have changed over time to sound more palatable but less honest. Examples include 'toilet paper' to 'bathroom tissue,' 'sneakers' to 'running shoes,' and 'false teeth' to 'dental appliances.' The speaker also addresses societal euphemisms, such as referring to the poor as 'economically disadvantaged' and old people as 'senior citizens.' They argue that this language is a form of self-deception and a way to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths. The speaker resists the use of such language, advocating for direct and honest communication.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Euphemisms
💡Reality
💡Truth
💡Combat Stress
💡Evolution of Language
💡Honest Language
💡Societal Protection
💡Generational Change
💡Dehumanizing Language
💡Fear of Aging
Highlights
Dislike for words that hide the truth and conceal reality
Critique of American English for its use of euphemisms to avoid facing reality
Example of how language evolves to soften the impact of words, from 'shell shock' to 'post-traumatic stress disorder'
The impact of euphemisms on the perception and treatment of war veterans
The transformation of everyday terms to more sterile and less direct language
The shift from 'toilet paper' to 'bathroom tissue' and its implications
The change in language around poverty and economic disadvantage
The use of language to sanitize and distance from negative realities, such as 'fired' becoming 'no longer viable'
Criticism of the language used by the CIA and government to obscure their actions
The absurdity of certain euphemisms like 'pre-board' and 'physically challenged'
The resistance to the term 'senior citizen' as a euphemism for 'old people'
The fear of aging and the avoidance of the word 'old' in favor of '90 years young'
The absurdity of using 'expire' instead of 'die' and other medical euphemisms for death
The speaker's personal journey with aging and the language used to describe it
The speaker's call to resist the sanitization of language and the importance of直面现实
Transcripts
I don't like words that hide the truth I
don't like words that conceal reality I
don't like euphemisms or euphemistic
language and American English is loaded
with euphemisms because Americans have a
lot of trouble dealing with reality
Americans have trouble facing the truth
so they invent the kind of a soft
language to protect themselves from it
and it gets worse with every generation
for some reason it just keeps getting
worse I'll give you an example of that
there's a condition in combat most
people know about it it's when a
fighting person's nervous system has
been stressed to its absolute Peak and
maximum can't take any more input the
nervous system has either snapped or is
about to snap in the first world war
that condition was called shell
shock simple honest direct language two
syllables shell shock almost sounds like
the guns themselves that was 70 years
ago then a whole generation went by and
the second world war came along we the
very same combat condition was called
battle fatigue four syllables now takes
a little longer to say doesn't seem to
hurt as much fatigue is a nicer word
than shock Shell Shock battle
fatigue then we had the war in Korea
1950 Madison Avenue was riding High by
that time and the very same combat
condition was called operational
exhaustion hey we're up to 8 syllables
now and the humanity has been squeezed
completely out of the phrase it's
totally sterile now operational
exhaustion sounds like something that
might happen to your
car then of course came the war in
Vietnam which has only been over for
about 16 or 17 years and thanks to the
lies and deceits surrounding that War I
guess it's no surprise that the very
same condition was called post-traumatic
stress
disorder still eight syllables but we've
at a
hyphen and the pain is completely buried
under jargon post-traumatic stress
disorder I'll bet you if we'd have still
been calling it shell shock some of
those Vietnam veterans might have gotten
the attention they needed at the time
I'll bet you that I'll bet you that
but but it didn't happen and one of the
reasons one of the reasons is because we
were using that soft language that
language that takes the life out of life
and it is a function of time it does
keep getting worse give you another
example sometime during my life sometime
during my life toilet paper became
bathroom
tissue I wasn't notified of
this no one asked me if I agreed with it
it just happened toilet paper became
bathroom tissue
sneakers became running
shoes false teeth became Dental
appliances medicine became medication
information became directory
assistance the dump became the
landfill car crashes became automobile
accidents partly cloudy became partly
sunny motels became motor
lodges house trailers became mobile
homes used cars became previously owned
Transportation room service became guest
room dining and constipation became
occasional
irregularity when I was a little kid if
I got sick they wanted me to go to the
hospital and see the doctor now they
want me to go to a health maintenance
organization or a Wellness Center to
consult a health care delivery
professional poor people used to live in
slums now the econ ically disadvantaged
occupy substandard housing in the inner
cities and they're broke they're broke
they don't have a negative cash flow
position they're [ __ ]
broke cuz a lot of them were fired you
know fired management wanted to curtail
redundancies in the Human Resources area
so many people are no longer viable
members of the workforce smug greedy
well-fed white people have invented a
language to cons seal lons it's as
simple as that the CIA doesn't kill
anybody anymore they neutralize people
or they depopulate the area the
government doesn't lie it engages in
disinformation the Pentagon actually
measures nuclear radiation and something
they call Sunshine
units Israeli murderers are called
Commandos Arab Commandos are called
terrorists Contra killers are called
Freedom Fighters well if crime Fighters
fight crime and firefighters fight fire
what do Freedom Fighters fight they
never mention that part of it to us do
they never mention that part of it
and and some of the stuff is just silly
we know we all know that like on the
airlines they say they want a pre-board
well what the hell is pre-board what
does that mean to get on before you get
on they say they're going to pre-board
those passengers in need of special
assistance
cripples simple honest direct language
there's no shame attached to the word
[ __ ] that I can find in any
dictionary no shame attached to it in
fact it's a word used in Bible
translations Jesus healed the cripples
doesn't take seven words to describe
that condition but we don't have any
cripples in this country anymore we have
the physically
challenged is that a grotesque enough
Evasion for you how about differently
abled I've heard them called that
differently abled you can't even call
these people handicapped anymore they'll
say we're not handicapped we're handic
capable these poor people have been
bullshitted by the system into believing
that if you change the name of the
condition somehow you'll change the
condition well hey cousin doesn't happen
doesn't
happen we we have no more deaf people in
this country hearing impaired no one's
blind anymore partially cited or
visually impaired we have no more stupid
people everybody has a learning
disorder or he's minimally
exceptional how would you like to be
told that about your child he's
minimally
exceptional oh thank God for
that psychologists actually have started
calling ugly people those with severe
appearance
deficits it's getting so bad that any
day now I expect to hear a rape victim
referred to as an unwilling sperm
recipient and we have no more old people
in this country no more old people we
shipped them all away and we brought in
these senior
citizens isn't that a typically American
20th century phrase bloodless lifeless
no pulse in one of them a senior citizen
but I've accepted that when I've come to
terms with it I know it's here to stay
we'll never get rid of it that's what
they're going to be called so I'll relax
on that but the one I do resist the one
I keep resisting is when they look at an
old guy and they'll say look at him Dan
he's 90 years
young imagine the fear of Aging that
reveals to not even be able to use the
word all to describe someone to have to
use an antonym and fear of Aging is
natural it's Universal isn't it we all
have that no one wants to get old no one
wants to die but we do so we [ __ ]
ourselves I started bullshitting myself
when I got to my 40s soon as I was in my
40s I'd look in the mirror and I'd say
well I I guess I'm
getting
older older sounds a little better than
old doesn't it sounds like it might even
last a little longer
[ __ ] I'm getting old and it's okay
because thanks to our fear of death in
this country I won't have to
die I'll pass
away or I'll expire like a magazine
subscription it happens in the hospital
they'll call it a terminal episode The
the insurance company will refer to it
as negative patient care
outcome and if it's the result of
malpractice they'll say it was a
therapeutic
misadventure I'm telling you some of
this language makes me want to vomit
well maybe not vomit makes me want to
engage in an involuntary personal
protein
spill thank you all
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