THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WORDS

Or rather, the loss in significance of words. Words, in their simplest form, serve as a means for communication; however, seemingly social norms of contemporary society have disrupted its purpose – or at least to my knowledge. To clarify, etymology is not the focus of this piece; nor are words in the domain of an average Zoomer or Gen Zer (e.g. woke, yeet, and no cap). The content focuses on common phrases that have disrupted the nature of communication – or rather, phrases that are ironic / have lost its meaning.

Not to be, but…

To be impartial, I use this phrase a good amount and am trying to reduce its usage. Why? Well, to me, it acts as a strategy to prepare others for the words to come. After phrases such as: “not to be racist, but…”, “not to be mean, but…”, or “not to be rude, but..”, the user has a tendency to be exactly that - racist, mean, or rude. As such, it seems that the phrase very often mentally prepares the conversation for whatever the individual actually intends to be; ironic, isn’t it?

I’m sorry you feel that way

This is anything but an apology – it’s a non-apology. Its implications are clear – the person on the receiving end shouldn’t and are wrong to feel a certain way. It not only lacks compassion and empathy, but is a means distance the conversation. While the phrase contains the word sorry, it entails the opposite. An apology supposedly acts as a regretful acknowledgment and if one apologizes with an attack mechanism, why apologize at all?

Frankly, ...

The user will not be frank ninety-nine percent of the time and that comes with no surprise at all. Unless their name is Frank.

That is amazing / awesome

It baffles me how some people describe every situation as amazing or awesome. Not to be a negative Nancy but how is getting fast food for lunch awesome? In what way does it cause great surprise / wonder or is impressive / daunting? Perhaps if it was a first time experience and the taste was wonderful. But if you eat fast food every week and consider it awesome, it makes others question how awesome your life actually is. Not to take away the pleasure from eating fast food or performing routine tasks, but how do they compare to visiting the Great Wall? Or The Grand Canyon? It goes without saying that everyone has their definition of amazing / awesome and can apply it to situations of their choosing, but I find that the profuse use of certain words to take away from its meaning. Perhaps, when you have a truly awesome experience, you will find yourself at a loss for words; and wouldn't it be horrible if the reason was because you used them all up eating fast food?

This is not an exhaustive list and I carry no contempt for those that don’t say what they mean – it's hard. That said, I fail to see the point of communicating when words no longer carry significance. Why speak if our words do not reflect how we truly feel? Why make promises if we are not to deliver them? The greatest irony is when communication, which serves as a bridge to the unknown, obstructs itself through its own medium (i.e. words). If so, why speak at all?