John McWorter has a long piece over at the Wall St. Journal about evolving taboos in language.
"Taboos are about what we fear. In one era, it is the wrath of God; in another, hanky-panky; in ours, the defamation of groups."
That corresponds to some general cultural trends.
God has been deflated,
Sex has been degraded,
Groups have been elevated.
No comments:
Post a Comment