A friend told me there is a movement to replace the word blue with the word Avatar as a tribute to the creatures in James Cameron's movie.
My first reaction was to laugh, but on second thought, why not? Langauge, especially perhaps English, is a fluid living means of communications. It is democracy at its best! If enough people decide a certain word has a certain meaning, then it does. Sure, there's a learning curve and a pushback against a new meaning, but eventually the change takes place because the majority demand it. When was the last time you heard someone say "I'm gay" and they weren't talking about their sexual orientation.
So
Nope. It's ridiculous. The word "avatar" has a specific meaning, and the meaning is not "blue."
ReplyDeletePresident Obama has enough on his hands without a hot debate on a Fedreal law to replace the word "blue" with something else.
Ultimately the Supreme Court would have to rule on its constitutionality.
Ridiculous.
Modern society has already morphed the meaning ot the term "avatar." After my daughter and I saw the movie, I commented on the connection of avatar hero in the science fiction movie and the Hindu concept of avatar being the human incarnation of a divine being. (The hero was in a sense an incarnation from on existence into another civilization on another world). My daughter, a college student said that neither she nor any of her peers thinks that when they hear "avatar." To them, says my daughter, Avatar is a computer game. That is where they think the movie got it's name and concept.
ReplyDeleteSo no indeed! I say let's stop corrupting the language. Or at least let's let our education catch up to the terminologies we use.