Internationally recognised art and literary critic, writer and cultural producer. Published in ELLE, Glamour, Esquire and Cosmopolitan; member of the Union of Writers.
Language is a powerful tool. It can inform, persuade, inspire, and provoke. But it can also deceive, manipulate, inflame, and offend. In today’s hyper-connected and hyper-partisan world, language is often used as a weapon to advance agendas, attack opponents, and rally supporters. But what are the consequences of this linguistic warfare? How does it affect our understanding of reality, our ability to communicate, and our social cohesion?
One of the main strategies of language warfare is euphemism, the use of mild or indirect words to replace harsh or direct ones. Euphemism is not a new phenomenon; it has been used throughout history by politicians, bureaucrats, and propagandists to sugarcoat or obscure unpleasant facts. For example, during the Nazi era, the term “final solution” was used to refer to the genocide of Jews, and during the Vietnam War, the term “pacification” was used to describe the bombing and killing of civilians. Euphemism can also be used to sanitize or normalize controversial or immoral actions, such as “enhanced interrogation” for torture, “rendition” for kidnapping, or “preemptive strike” for aggression.
Euphemism is often criticized for being dishonest, misleading, or evasive. George Orwell, the author of 1984 and Animal Farm, famously denounced euphemism as a way of “defending the indefensible” and “making lies sound truthful”. He argued that euphemism can corrupt not only language, but also thought, by making people accept or ignore atrocities that they would otherwise reject or resist. He urged writers and speakers to use clear and precise language, and to avoid abstractions, clichés, and jargon.
However, euphemism is not the only danger to language. Another strategy of language warfare is exaggeration, the use of excessive or extreme words to magnify or distort the truth. Exaggeration is also not a new phenomenon; it has been used throughout history by poets, storytellers, and rhetoricians to embellish or dramatize their narratives. For example, Homer, the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, used hyperbole, metaphor, and simile to describe the epic battles and adventures of his heroes, and Shakespeare, the author of Hamlet and Macbeth, used imagery, irony, and paradox to convey the complex emotions and conflicts of his characters. Exaggeration can also be used to emphasize or persuade, such as “the best” for good, “the worst” for bad, or “the only” for one of many.
Exaggeration is often criticized for being inaccurate, misleading, or sensationalist. Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, famously quipped that “the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning”. He argued that exaggeration can weaken or undermine the impact of language, by making people doubt or dismiss the validity or importance of what is being said. He urged writers and speakers to use the right word, and to avoid overstatement, understatement, and falsehood.
However, exaggeration is not only a matter of style or taste. It can also have serious social and political implications, especially in the age of social media. Social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, have enabled billions of people to share their opinions, experiences, and emotions with the world. But they have also incentivized people to use the most attention-grabbing, provocative, or outrageous words possible, to generate likes, shares, comments, and followers. This has led to a phenomenon that some call “verbal extremism”, the use of extreme or inflammatory words to express or incite strong emotions, such as anger, fear, hatred, or contempt.
Verbal extremism can be seen in many domains of social media discourse, such as politics, religion, culture, and identity. For example, those who disagree with the policies or actions of a government or a leader are often accused of being “traitors”, “terrorists”, or “enemies of the people”. Those who hold different views or values on social or moral issues are often labeled as “bigots”, “fascists”, or “nazis”. Those who belong to different groups or categories based on race, gender, sexuality, or nationality are often called “inferior”, “degenerate”, or “subhuman”. These words are not only inaccurate or exaggerated; they are also dehumanizing, demonizing, and polarizing. They can create an atmosphere of hostility, intolerance, and violence, and erode the possibility of dialogue, understanding, and cooperation.
Verbal extremism is not only a problem of language; it is also a problem of psychology and sociology. It can reflect and reinforce the cognitive biases and emotional reactions that shape our perception and judgment of reality, such as confirmation bias, availability heuristic, negativity bias, and outrage bias. It can also exploit and manipulate the social dynamics and incentives that influence our behavior and interaction with others, such as groupthink, social identity, conformity, and reciprocity. It can create a vicious cycle of escalation, retaliation, and radicalization, and a downward spiral of distrust, division, and conflict.
How can we break this cycle and reverse this spiral? How can we restore the integrity and civility of language, and the harmony and stability of society? There is no easy or simple answer, but there are some possible steps and solutions. One is to raise awareness and education about the dangers and effects of euphemism and exaggeration, and to promote the values and skills of critical thinking, media literacy, and ethical communication. Another is to regulate and monitor the use and abuse of language on social media platforms, and to enforce the rules and norms of responsible and respectful speech. A third is to foster and facilitate the opportunities and platforms for constructive and meaningful dialogue, and to encourage the attitudes and behaviors of empathy, curiosity, and openness.
Language is a powerful tool. It can be used for good or evil, for peace or war, for love or hate. It is up to us to choose how we use it, and what we use it for.
