When language falls into the wrong hands it can be used for pure evil. Ok, so maybe that’s a little extreme but language can definitely be misused to the speakers benefit. Take a few examples from the article below:
- The debate over the national language turned into a debate about what to actually call the “national language.” James Inhofe, the bill’s sponsor, originally called English the “official language,” a phrase which suggests second class citizenship to all non-English speakers. After some debate, he conceded to change the phrase “official language” to the slightly less-offensive “national language,” which suggests no real legal repercussions for non-English speakers.
- In a Jan. 10 speech to the nation, President Bush called for an escalation to the War in Iraq, as he ordered another 22,000 troops to the country. But he didn’t call it an escalation or an increase in American forces. Instead, the 22,000 members of the military headed over (or back over) to Iraq are part of a more ambiguous “troop surge,” not to try and end a civil war, but instead, to quell “increased insurgent activity.” Source – Massachusetts Daily Collegian
Very interesting article but I can’t just copy and paste the whole thing so head over and have a read.