Some time last week I was half-watching Entertainment Tonight Canada when it caught my attention in a rather negative way. A profile on Nickelback called them “the quintessential Canadian band.” And I wondered, after shouting at the television for its lack of good judgement, when the word “quintessential” came to mean “completely lacking any talent or originality?”
It then occured to me that language was ever-evolving, and sometimes de-volving. I used to think this happened over generations, but I’ve noticed the process speeding up at a distressing rate. To demonstrate, I’ve listed five words that seem to have lost their original meaning (and in some cases, lost meaning completely).
1. Hot: Originally, the word meant “giving off heat,” or “capable of burning.” Then sometime around the Jazz Age it was also used to describe human beings. A very skilled musician could be called a “hot drummer,” for example.
Individuals who were sexually attractive, perhaps to the point of raising the body temperature in those who looked upon them, were also given the label. And we were all cool with that.
Then Paris Hilton got a hold of it and suddenly everything was “hot.” Now any piece of gutter trash willing to show her breasts for free drinks is considered “hot”. Consider the Pussycat Dolls. If you believe what they “sing,” every man wishes their girlfriend looked like she could give you a social disease with (literally) the blink of an eye.
There is sensual and there is skanky. They are not the same thing.
2. Relationship: Time was, a relationship meant either being related to or being able to relate to another. It was a kinship, a strong connection.
This is another word that is rampantly being abused. Around the time TV started telling us that love and fullfillment could be won on a game show, people started giving up on forming meaningful bonds with others, we began seeking “relationships” as a means of convenient sex or justifying one’s existence.
3.Artistic: once used to refer to an appreciation of beauty, form and content, the word is now thrown around by sleazy photographers who want models to get naked and open their legs, usually for no money; a term used by talentless shlubs who crave being legitimized but have no artistic ability at all.
4. Yoga: in its purest form, yoga is a discipline used to promote a union of the mind and body and bring peace and tranquility to those who practice.
It didn’t bother me so much when Stepford wives started frequenting overpriced small town yoga studios to attain firmness rather than consciousness. I figured they were at least making an effort. But a few years back (thanks largely to Lululemon) yoga was reduced to a fashion statement. Even crappy chain stores like Old Navy are now churning out “goga pants” that have little or nothing to do with yoga and everything to do with making your butt look presentable. These fashionistas wouldn’t know an asana from a hole in their heads.
5. Edgy: once used to describe something daring, provocative or ground-breaking. “Edgy” is now what record companies tell us happens when some Disney ingenue puts on black, sports a temporary tattoo and purrs about how she’s not a little girl anymore. Slick and overproduced, what the mainstream buys as edgy couldn’t cut hair.
It’s time to take words out of the mouths of marketing companies and give them back to the poets. Or at least people who read.
