Let's Just Keep Going

Yea for communication. Nay for hostility.

Reading “Words Don’t Mean What They Mean” made me realize how much we actually use innuendos and a “manner of vagueness” when communicating with others, and how they are being used today as a form of slang. People love using innuendos and double entendres. As we talked about it in class, “netflix and chill” means, in Ms. Valentino’s words, “Let’s get sexual.” (I’m sorry). “Sexual come-ons” are not only popular in English, but other languages as well. In Korea, asking, “Want to eat ramen at my house?” has become a double entendre. Asking “¿Ontas?” (which pretty much means “¿Dónde estás?”, meaning “Where are you?,” in shortened form) in Mexico has become one. It’s an international thing. We all want to avoid saying what we really mean. People hate straight-up vulgarity. It’s rude, disgusting, and unattractive. Somehow, putting a thin veil over everything makes it so much better. If everything was just said the way we meant it, the world could be hostile and, it may seem weird, but bland. We wouldn’t have to come up with the clever sayings we have today, there would be no descriptions, we wouldn’t even be analyzing text in class (although I can’t tell if that’s a bad thing). Reading a book wouldn’t wow us. Descriptions of the “spinach-green and violet dress” would become merely “an ugly dress.” (I’m sorry if I offended anyone with a green and purple dress). I just think it might be better to keep it the way we have it--this kind of language is why more people don’t hate us. Am I wrong?