Language is the main way people express themselves to another person. I find the idea of language and its importance in society to be very interesting. It is important to have a strong grasp on language because it is a critical point necessary to having a good understanding of different societies and cultures. I wanted to specifically focus on the reading that addressed naming the military.
There are two parts of language: the physiology of speaking and the meaning of language. The meaning, of course, is the more important of the two and that is what is addressed in Manipulating Meaning: The Military Name Game, an article I happened upon on the internet recently.
Addressed is the issue governments, specifically the United States’ government, has in naming different operations.
The words officials use to name different operations give rise to conflicts among people concerned with the meaning of the words chosen for that particular operation. For example, under President Lyndon B. Johnson, Masher became a controversial operation name for a task focused on pacification. The public, however, did not initially see it this way because the word ‘masher’ seems to suggest some sense of violence rather than peace. For the government, public perception is of high importance, and just the usage of one word gave rise to conflict and led to somewhat of a public confusion and even disapproval. In response to this, the operation was renamed White Wing. This demonstrates the power of language.
Situations such as this one have led the military and various branches of government to search for words that, in a sense, have “no meaning” in the hopes of appeasing the vast majority of the public. Countless words have different meanings for different people, and so the naming of military operations has become a difficult task to perform well.
This article applies to more than military operation; the misinterpretation of certain words and their meanings applies to everyday life. Being from Florida and having several friends from the Northeast, mainly from Boston, I experience this disconnect everyday. For example, a round-a-bout is called a rotary to my Boston friends. Prior to meeting them, I thought a rotary was only a club. While this example may not be as serious, you get the idea. Language varies, and means different things to different people.
It is only through speaking to new people that we will further understand our own language.
There is still so much to be learned.
