In recent years, corporate jargon, advertising terminology and psychology-speak have hijacked and integrated words such as “authenticity”, “journey” and “disruptive” into their respective industry lexicons, spinning their meaning from their original usage. Then new interpretations of old words have spilt into common usage which we use without thinking.
We take language for granted and yet words are our primary tools for meaningful communication. Over the centuries, the English language has shifted and shaped how we view ourselves. From Latin derivation and Middle English with its Germanic and Dutch roots, modern English as we know it has had many incarnations and it is still shedding its linguistic skin. Jargon, vernacular, street language and slang have influenced how we speak and subsequently how we think. And this is a good thing if we understand how we use and relate to the revised meaning of words. Language is dexterous and pliable.
The word people might use to describe modern language would be organic — meaning naturally evolving and changing. But the actual meaning of organic is unrefined or unprocessed. At a biological or botanical level its definitional meaning has very earthy roots, literally. But now through linguistic evolution this word has transformed from a scientific term to an experiential one. Organic is no longer about being preservative-free but now refers to the process of growth and developmental change usually to do with the human experience. Organic isn’t organismic anymore. It has taken a more
