This is really good reflection. You are making me think through ideas that I haven’t considered either.

On the power & language thought — and what it means for culture as whole by determining language — George Orwell’s “1984” speaks to this a bit, especially by the whole idea of ‘newspeak’. But this thought also acts as a signpost for the non-universality of language. People determine meaning, it shifts, and, sometimes, people use that in a power relationship that might not be healthy.

As for the dictionary thought, I don’t know. Does it develop the dumbing down of society? I definitely think it could, but there are a lot of factors to consider. I know that Oxford is pretty stringent on incorporating pop-culture words. They have an algorithm for measuring how much of the population uses the word and only brings in a few “pop-culture” words a year. I feel that the influencers of society are doing more of the defining for us — whether through mass media, music, and especially through the social media culture that is heavily influenced by younger generations. High school kids are creating their own vocabulary all the time — often with symbols that mean nothing in English. It started with “LOL”, but there is almost a whole language set that many, especially adult, members of the population wouldn’t have a clue how to decipher.

The dumbing down, though, might be more of a result of making communication easier and more accessible to everyone. A globalized language has always been yearned for and we are getting pretty close with the use of English. It certainly makes communication easier — just look at how many people are able to access shared articles or platforms like this one — but I don’t hear many people bringing up the potential cost of this…which may be a form of idiocracy. Focusing on easier communication might be ledge we walk off in a dumbing down that makes transformative communication no longer possible.

Good word, sir. I really appreciate these thoughts.