Good Morning, boys and girls! Sometime around half past four here in Las Vegas and we are ready for our latest edition of Insomniac Theater! I see we have had considerable discussion regarding our last topic, profanity. Well done! As was expected, our rather verbose classmate strat has raised some challenging issues and we should address this in our own, special way. Please follow along and prepare to review;
Last time, we talked about profanity's effect on others as well as it's place, if any, in our language. After much discussion, I am compelled to address this debate thusly: Just what does the writer owe to the hypothetical reader? And what, in all good conscience, does a writer owe to himself? These questions concern not only the professional writer, but certainly the writer here among us as well as everyone that writes a letter, speaks to a group or attempts to teach an adolescent a life-lesson. The true purpose of language to to convey a message from writer to reader or from speaker to auditor. And the first requirement is a common language.
It is among the most enduring fascinations of speech that everyone, in some fashion, is a linguist. I know my daughter speaks fluent "computerese". I speak fairly good "finance". Doctors tend to be rather fluent in "medicine" and we all know people that speak "sports". In our daily lives, we tailor our communication to the audience. Most professional writers tend to communicate to their audience as if they are all high school graduates in their most perceptive moments. Some may write to a "higher" audience but, we must resist the temptation to "dumb down" our writing, lest we insult our reader. Afterall, we are not children here, are we? In any event, no one wishes to be spoken to in a condescending manner. Conversely, it is unwise to fire our bolts of wisdom over their heads! Of course, an occasional reference to something otherwise not considered "common knowledge" is a great way to inform the curious reader and should not be avoided.
I tend to believe that the manner in which we write or speak tells others a lot about who we are as a person. Not so much our social status or our worth as a human being. I should think that even the very best among the human race resort to an occasional "F"-bomb, as it were. When I mentioned earlier that I feel it cheapens the message, I was referring to the fact that there are certainly far better ways to express or emphasize a point than turning to an obscene word or two. As I also mentioned previously, I have employed a rather "randy" comment or ten in my lifetime. Again, the point is that I tailor my words to fit my audience. More importantly, I look to ensure that my message meets my standards of deceny. Hmm..perhaps deceny should be on our agenda for a future conversation? HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited at: Saturday, November 29, 2008 7:15:01 AM |
|
