As mental health awareness grows, and the idea of invisible illnesses, there is synchronic language change in these fields. This article is asking us not to use "commit suicide" any more and makes us think about where that phrase came from. But what are the connotations of the alternatives? Kind of the opposite of Unspeak (that we looked at a while back ) - this writer is seeking to use language that sheds old associations (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis) and seeks greater connection with current thinking by changing the terms of reference (actually the technique is not that different except the result is to serve the needs of those being spoken about not hide or manipulate them or us). One of my friends nearly died of depression recently and one in four of us will be affected by mental health issues in our lifetime. Isn't it time we found ways of speaking that left outdated stigma in the past?
https://www.thecalmzone.net/2015/01/first-person-dying-of-depression-the-words-are-not-enough/
No comments:
Post a Comment