Word Bastards

Bemoaning the media’s use of a bit of slang to describe a highbrow artistic work, a woman recently told me she was saddened when we are “forced to downgrade and debase language to be understood”.

Well, with all due respect (and from this writer’s perch), you cannot “downgrade” or “debase” language (so you certainly cannot be forced to do it).

Language simply is.

The variance and progression of language throughout history—most notably in literature–proves that all words (with all their variations, bastardizations, and derivations) are simply colors in the palette, colors to be used when and whereever is appropriate or to achieve a desired effect. Yes, every word is a button waiting to be pushed, a tone to be struck or invoked.

The slang of today is often the codified usage of tomorrow. And slang is often the most rich and colorful language there is. It is not a debasement or a downgrade. It is actually language when it is most alive.

Nowhere is it more alive than in the marrow of Southern Literature. Of course, there are certain elite who consider Southern Lit itself to be a downgrading and debasement of language. I have my own choice words for them.

RT