Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Define 'relevant'.

relevant:
a : having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand.

b : affording evidence tending to prove or disprove the matter at issue or under discussion ...


I think in general my position on the shifting of language is that at its best, it's pretty cool the way words migrates, and at worst, its more like a venial sin than a mortal one. I might get irritated when a noun has morphed into a verb overnight, but I don't mind it all that much. But there is one arena where we all ought to be a little less lazy and a little more vigilant, and that's when words creep into other meanings when used by the powerful. Ezra Klein's  recent segment on Rachel Maddow talks about how a secret government court has rewritten law so that the word "relevant" applies to, well, pretty much everything:

 


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7 comments:

  1. Oh, my! I can see all my government teachers rolling in their graves or stamping their feet in frustration -- Lila Couch, Forrest Stith, Mike Troester, Harold DeVries, June Williams, Ken Rippe, Mike McGowan.

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  2. Maybe you could do a blog post or two on some of these folks, Collagemama.

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  3. Seana, I suspect you are enjoying reading Alan Glynn.

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  4. I am indeed. But I knew I would, as I've already read two of his books. His ESL teaching has stood him in good stead.

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  5. Oh, Seana, just read Kathleen's blog about the passing of Mike Dobbins. The world is so small sometimes. Dobbins taught drama on the same staff with the teachers listed above.

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  6. I saw Kathleen's post too, but uncharacteristically didn't know quite what to say. I have been lucky all my life in my teachers, so I do understand what impact this has.

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  7. Tonight I excised "reached out to" from a story at work. I don't think Glynn hsa invoked that expression, but I would not put it past him to do so in a future book.

    His novels ought to fascinate and perhaps horrify anyone, but I like to think I get a bit extra out of it because of his thoughts on my profession, especially in Graveland.

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