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The misuse of language induces evil in the soul. That's a statement attributed to Socrates, and you may have heard or read me quoting it before. It bears repeating.
The etymology of the English word "language" tells quite a story. It stems from the Old French langage: "speech, words, oratory; a tribe, people, nation"; from the Latin vulgate linguaticum, from Latin lingua: "tongue," also "speech, language," from the pre-Indo-European root dnghu- "tongue." Interesting how closely related it is to "tribe" or "people," isn't it? You are what you say.
The ultra-right’s assault on language has escalated to a linguistic battle–now being waged even across official Washington—in an attempt to shift public perception of key policies by changing the way the federal government talks and writes about climate change, scientific evidence, disadvantaged communities, and other issues.
Surely we remember George Orwell’s chilling novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which the totalitarian state’s mottos were “War...
