Elitist language

Oftentimes, people might tell others that they’re speaking incorrectly, or that they’re language is inappropriate or impure. Although this can be true if they’re syntax is completely unintelligible, many times, this can have no meaning outside of pure elitism. Many attempts at trying to purify language is a result of the wealthy upper class not accepting the language of the poorer class.

For example, MIT linguist Noam Chomsky, who revolutionized the field of linguistics at a young age, was once asked in an interview what, say, the French theorists mean when they say they want to keep the French language pure. “That doesn’t mean anything” was his response. Language is extremely subject to change and evolution. Chomsky goes on to explain that in fact, for most of history, and even in many places today, people speak a different language than the people in the next village over, and the concept of a national language is a modern phenomenon. Because language will naturally evolve anyway, there is no point in trying to control it, and there is especially no point in trying to purify it considering some forms of language to be “impure”, whatever that means, based on things like social class. For instance, if language is constantly subject to change from location to location, then which one is “correct?” It would be a completely arbitrary decision.

An example of how the concept of unnecessarily controlling language is specifically targeted towards the common man is through the etymology of the word “vulgar.” People might  know the word vulgar to mean disgusting or vile, and it certainly does hold that connotation, but its original meaning was simply “common”. The reason why the word holds this meaning was because the language and habits of the common people, including curse words, (which were not limited to them but were associated with them) was seen as less refined, and that connotation has stuck with the word ever since. 

Another huge example of unnecessary language prohibition is the idea of curse words, which are words that are deemed to be inappropriate in certain circumstances. By inappropriate, I mean that if someone were to say one of these words in any general situation, it would be considered rude or inappropriate. Now, that would not be true in a very informal setting, such as a local bar, or just friends hanging in the privacy of their own home, but it would hold in most circumstances. Some of these words include but are not limited to: “fuck”, “shit”, “piss” and “ass.” One might notice that these words can all be expressed using words that have the same meaning, but for some reason are not considered to be inappropriate. Examples of these words, respectively, are: “intercourse”, “feces”, “urine”, and “gluteus maximus.” It seems redundant to frown upon “shit”, but “feces” is relatively formal. The origin of these words has to do with the merging of languages throughout history, as well as the role that language plays in social classes. Note, I will not be explaining the history of some other curse words that are slurs, as they are in fact offensive because their history and origin differ from the ones I will be explaining, that is curse words that have the same meaning as certain non-curse words.

The reasons for why the lower and upper class differ in language varies, but one important example is the Battle of Hastings. This battle took place in 1066 between the Normans (norse/french people) and the Anglo Saxons (the ancestors of the modern day english), and the Normans were the successors. As a result, the Normans were the ruling class, and the anglo saxons were the poor working class. (Vizarra, 2019). Now, due to the merging of these cultures, the languages also merged, changing the English language. An example of such change is the words used for food. The working class referred to animals they worked with using english words (i.e. cow and pig), whereas the elites referred to the animals that were served to them in Norman (beef and pork). 

The english words were considered less refined, and sometimes, so bad, that they developed into curse words; like the word shit for example, of Anglo Saxon origin (Dent, 2018).

It’s not just curse words that this happens too. The word “ain’t” used to be considered proper, believe it or not. But then, “ain’t became associated with lower-class characters” (Thesaurus.com, 2019). And now, ain’t is associated with the lower class, improper grammar, and isn’t really even considered to be a word. However, some might notice that it’s literally just a contraction of “am not”. This just goes to show that time after time, elites will consider certain forms of language (typically that of the poorer class) to be improper for no good reason whatsoever, and that these norms are carried throughout time, usually unquestioned. It seems as though the reason why it’s done is to subtly discriminate against people of the lower classes from the upper class.

Curse words tend to form around taboo subjects. As (Orlando 2023) put it, “profanity can also come from language involving sex and sexual acts, as well as bodily functions.” They also tend to evolve around sacred subjects such as religion (for example, it’s generally inappropriate to exclaim “Jesus Christ! As an interjection). This means that they do form naturally, it’s not all just the doing of elitism, however, elitism clearly exasperates it and creates more ideas of purity in language than necessary.

So in summary, people in power tend to try and control or purify language, seemingly out of an unwillingness to accept other cultures, and as a way of othering the lower class. Curse words tend to originate from touchy subjects, but many times will be exasperated by the upper class to belittle the lower class. So the next time you feel that your language isn’t proper or refined, just remember that the idea of a proper language is arbitrary and baseless, so that if your language effectively communicates to people, then it’s completely valid.

References

Chomsky, N. (1989). Noam Chomsky: upon reflection interview with al page 

The Concept of Language (Noam Chomsky) (youtube.com)

Dent, S. (2020, October 9). Susie Dent: how English swear words went away from the holy and back to the shit again. inews.co.uk. https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/susie-dent-english-swear-words-171621#:~:text=The%20word%20comes%20from%20%E2%80%98scitte%E2%80%99%2

Dictionary.com. (2019, August 11). Why Is “Ain’t” Such A Controversial Word? Thesaurus.com. https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/aint-amnt-haint-baint/

Orlando, A. (2023, September 5). The history of swear words: Where the &%@! do they come from? Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-history-of-swear-words-where-the-and-do-they-come-from

Vizarra, I. ( 2019, October 14). Battle of Hastings: The War that Changed the Course of English Language Forever. Medium. https://medium.com/@ianvizarra/battle-of-hastings-the-war-that-changed-the-course-of-english-language-forever-c85f3d1269b7

vulgar | Etymology of vulgar by etymonline. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/vulgar

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