Language is one of the most powerful components of society, but it does not diminish control over our lives. After millions of years the human race has evolved language to communicate thoughts and feelings, either verbally or transferring it down on a piece of paper. In the world today there are many different kinds of languages, and every country has a main language. In America our main language is English. How our language has developed over our history has determined how we think about things, look at other people, and make judgements. .
In an essay by Alleen Pace Nilson called "Sexism and Language," she talks about language and how it can affect our daily life. An example of this is "A lucky dog or a gay dog may be very interesting fellow, but when a woman is dog, she is unattractive, and when she's a bitch she's the personification of whatever is undesirable in the mind of the speaker." .
Nilson is stating that because of the way our language has formed over the years, women seem not as important then men. To reverse this outcome requires a change in our language. Throughout history, we can see the development of certain types of slang in our language. Today some people talk in ghetto slang with words like "Homeboy, thug, gangsta, yo, or fershizzle." A hundred years earlier, people used slang but it was completely different then the kind of slang we use today and would probably not be understood. An example would be "You cur", which would mean "You Dog". .
One use of language to provoke others is "name calling," which is when someone makes fun of another person. This use of the language has become a major factor in the past few years. Kids picking on one another has made some serious problems and even caused people to do something that normally wouldn't do, because they get so angry when another kid makes fun of them. Author Ann McClintock explains this in her essay called "Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising" when she illustrates with "A childhood rhyme claims that "names can never hurt me," but name calling is an effective way to damage the opposition, whether it is another car maker or a congressional candidate.
