Linguistic Obsolescence
Definition: A phenomenon in which a word loses its meaning
Origin: English
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At SCL, we spend a lot of our time thinking about and looking for language to help articulate the troubling aspects of our society that commonly leave people speechless.
We also identify the numerous destructive phrases that Americans use in a celebratory or positive context. For example, it is common for Americans to say “I crushed it!” after doing a good job and we often look for a “silver bullet” to solve all our problems. There are many troubling aspects to our language and discourse, and many of our phrases that celebrate destruction need to become obsolete for our own well-being.
As with anything, nothing lasts forever. Languages change over time and words become outdated. However, as we curate and cultivate our society’s language, it is important to identify the type of words that are potentially more harmful than helpful. Many of these harmful words can be detrimental because they espouse destructive ideas and actions, but also because they are destined to become obsolete within a small number of years. We have an abundance of detrimental and hollow words, and this combination does not breed longevity.
Why should we spend time pretending that certain words are meaningful when we know they will disappear during our lifetimes?
The idea that one can predict that a word will disappear may seem like a bizarre concept, but in America’s business-centric language and culture, we live within an environment consumed with business jargon that will disappear. We know that when a business runs out of money, its name and everything attached to it ceases to exist.
The language of business has a linguistic obsolescence that capitalist societies work to ignore, but for the betterment of our society, we cannot ignore the futility of this language.
No Money, No Language
Recently, I came across an article about a new observation deck at the 108-story Willis (Sears) Tower in Chicago, and this trivial story helped crystalize an internal discussion about the language of business that we have been having at SCL for a while.
In 1974, the then-Sears Tower was completed making it the tallest building in the world. In order to proclaim the strength of a wealthy chain of American department stores, Sears, Roebuck and Co. emblazoned their name upon the building. When anyone from around the world thought about the tallest building in the world, they would think about Sears.
However, by the early 2000s, Sears’ position as a titan of American business fell into a precipitous decline. Their declining wealth meant that their name and language became increasingly meaningless. At best, their name started to become synonymous with failure, antiquated business practices, and an inability to adapt. Their name no longer had a place upon one of the tallest buildings in the world, and in 2009, the tallest building in America became known as the Willis Tower. (In 2013, One World Trade Center became the tallest building in America.)
The language of Sears had become obsolete. In 1974, it sat upon the tallest building in the world and less than 40 years later few people needed to speak the language of Sears. This decline did not occur due to any malfeasance or the destructive influence of a conquering horde of invaders. There was no ethnocidal agenda committed to destroying the language and culture of Sears. What prompted this decline is the inherent fragility of language that is dependent upon money and wealth in order to have meaning.
The peculiar, and very American, dynamic of the Willis Tower is the desire of Chicagoans to keep the Sears name alive. If you visit Chicago, you’ll find that Chicagoans loath to call the building the Willis Tower, and in print it often appears as the “Willis (Sears) Tower.” They want to keep the Sears name and language alive despite it dying a natural death because they believe that it is a vital part of their culture.
America proclaims to be a pro-business, capitalistic society, and due to this we need to believe that businesses and their derivative languages have a sustainability that they have never possessed. Education, healthcare, and essential services in America are largely dependent on having a job, and our society can only justify our government denying Americans these services or conditioning these services based on employment status if we believe in the inherent stability of businesses.
This is a lie that Americans tell themselves, and it is easier to notice this lie by observing the linguistic obsolescence of the language of business. The reliance on money in order for a business’ name to have meaning means that countless businesses will come and go during our lifetimes. Humans can exist without money, but businesses cannot. It is natural for businesses to become obsolete while humanity thrives. Investing in humanity instead of businesses is a smarter investment.
Tragically, America still attempts to prioritize businesses before people, and as a result, we are all encouraged to speak the language of business and ignore its linguistic obsolescence. Due to this, when the language of Sears becomes irrelevant, many Americans try to keep it alive because this is the only language that we know. We yearn to make the obsolete sustainable instead of cultivating sustainability.
Meaningless Language
The linguistic obsolescence that is ingrained in the language of business is not limited to the fact that the language will become irrelevant in a matter of years, but that the language has no necessity to speak the truth.
The language of business exists in order to obtain money for the business. Therefore, if truthful language could prevent the acquisition of money, the language of business will encourage untruthful language so that it can stay alive. The language quickly becomes obsolete because it is unclear what the words mean.
If you go to the grocery store it is common to see a juice container that says “100% real fruit juice.” We all know what we want that description to mean, but we know that it probably does not mean that. We want that description to essentially mean “healthy” because it is devoid of unnatural chemicals and additives. Yet we know that label is a lie, and we need to look on the back to read all of the ingredients in order to confirm if it is or is not actually healthy.
The goal of that business-oriented language is to coerce people into spending money by misrepresenting language. The words lack truth and this also makes the language obsolete.
These linguistic lies are another manifestation of the mauvaise foi that is inherent to an ethnocidal society.
Additionally, I wonder if America’s reliance on obsolete, misleading language dependent upon money inclines Americans to dismiss the possibility and necessity of cultivating sustainable, truthful, and meaningful language completely independent of money and wealth.
America must be able to speak its way out of ethnocide, and the linguistic obsolescence of our ethnocidal, business-centric discourse remains a significant impediment. This week, and every week, practice using constructive and sustainable language, so that we can speak into existence the positive change we desire to create.