Why the Meanings of Words Change Over Time
Rachael Liu
What are the reasons that the meanings of words have changed overtime? Is it because some problems have arisen with the development and application of the words? Or did some events lead to the changes in meanings of words? Such as the word black, it is a symbol that proves the meanings of words changed depend on events. There are also some word meanings that have changed because of the change of context. The reason that words change over time is because their meaning depended on past events and context.
The meaning of words change over time depending on the event. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous speech “I Have a Dream,” he used Negro to mean African American. But later, the word black was used instead of Negro. The meaning of black has totally changed after Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech. Langston Hughes wrote, “White people have done used that word to mean something bad so often until when the N.A A.C.P. asks for civil rights for the black man, they think they must be bad.” Until his speech, everything black meant bad, like black-list, black-balled, blackmailed and so on (Hughes 86). The original meaning of black is only the color. At first, they did not like being called “black;” they preferred Negro, but then feelings towards the word changed after MLK and the civil rights movement. Because of a changing understanding of the world, black has become a new word which means African American.
“Nice” is another word that could be used to show how the meaning of words change depending on the context. Nice evolved from the Latin vocabulary nescius, means “silly, foolish, simple” in the 14th century. Later it was used to express various negative meanings such as wantonness, extravagance, and sloth, etc. By the Middle Ages it was used for some neutral meanings such as shyness and reserve. In the 18th century, when people appreciated this shyness and steadiness, they started to give “nice” a more positive meaning. Later, the meaning of “nice” changed to mean a completely respected good character (“The Changing Meanings of ‘Nice’ and ‘Silly’”). The original meaning is very different from today; like what Shayna Diamond said, it is “far from the compliment it is today!” Nice is evidence to support that the meaning of words changed depending on the context.
The meaning of the word “ flirt” is now very different than it once was. The elements of flirt: fl- and -rt both meant sudden movement. The earliest meanings ere “joke, jibe and flighty girl,” with a notion originally of cheeky behaviour (“Flirt”). Now, it is used to describe playfully amorous behaviour. Because of a changing understanding of the word, it has become a new word.
The meaning of a word can change, and perhaps each word itself has several meanings. Some events and some changes of context are the reasons for the change in word meaning. The differences in the way we use words or the differences in the language environment can lead to changes in the meanings of words. Many words have hidden meanings, which are what people feel for themselves. Diamond thinks, “The words that we use don’t define who we are; the way we use them and our intentions in using them do” (230). The change of the meaning of words is a part of language development, and the language changes over time. We need to keep learning words and language all the time, in order to catch the changing of words.
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