Misuse of language

Filed under:So-so Social — posted by squires on 1/20/2008 @ 8:49 pm

I have lately started noticing that people often ask me if linguists study or teach about the “misuse of language.” I am never quite sure how to respond, so I usually just change the subject. The truth is I am not sure what this phrase even means, and I never feel like asking for clarification because I fear the worst (i.e., “You know, people who don’t speak proper English”), and even what I presume is the best possible meaning (i.e., “You know, using rhetoric to dupe people into voting for unjust wars”) does not make me particularly interested in responding. When you hear someone talk about the “misuse of language,” what do you interpret them to mean?

9 comments »

  1. I would certainly assume they mean “bad grammar,” but it’s not a reaction I often get when I say I’m a linguist. Seems like almost everybody has a pet peeve about written or spoken language that they’re quite willing to rant about, though.

    Comment by Bridget — 1/20/2008 @ 9:30 pm

  2. I assume they mean bad grammar too, but more often the response I get is: “oh no! I’ll watch what I say!”

    I always try to diffuse the either misconception by telling people where their accent suggests they’re from. Sure, it’s just another misconception about what we do, but at least it’s a positive one. :)

    Comment by kevin — 1/20/2008 @ 10:48 pm

  3. Bludgeoning someone with a copy of CGEL.

    Comment by Q. Pheevr — 1/20/2008 @ 11:24 pm

  4. Maybe “misuse of language” is using language for something other than communication. Like, say, clothing. Going out dressed only in language gets you arrested.

    Comment by Jason Adams — 1/21/2008 @ 1:02 am

  5. Perhaps they’re referring to slang, leet- or txt-speak, or other informal uses of non-standard English. If I’m not mistaken, that’s what you specialize in.

    Comment by pl — 1/21/2008 @ 5:15 pm

  6. The next time it happens, you could ask exactly what they mean by “misuse,” then use that as a springboard for a little linguistic education.

    Comment by Timm — 1/21/2008 @ 8:16 pm

  7. I’d imagine they mean “texting” or “bad grammar” or “causing the language to degenerate” - but they might mean media-speak or advertising.

    Comment by The Ridger — 1/21/2008 @ 8:31 pm

  8. The misuse of English might be perceived differently by different language speakers. As a non-native English speaker, I think that English might be misused in other languages as well. For example, Czech people use anglicisms when they want to sound sophisticated or posh. In a way, they misuse Czech as they don’t use proper Czech expressions but they also misuse English as they abuse English expressions and incorporate them in a totally different language, Czech in this case.

    Comment by Lenka Translator — 3/5/2008 @ 2:04 pm

  9. I have to second what Lenka has said here - “The misuse of English might be perceived differently by different language speakers. As a non-native English speaker, I think that English might be misused in other languages as well. For example, Czech people …”

    Comment by translation services toronto — 3/6/2008 @ 4:38 am

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