Watch What You Say

A simple word could have a collection of definitions, meanings similar or not, coming from all different places—yet the one that sticks, becomes the new definition.

Society formulates new connotations of words on a daily basis, new slang that is often replaced by its original meaning. It is here in which a new voice, a new language is created and spoken. Whether or not this new voice prevails will determine society’s ability to recognize the original denotation.

Gay—a term filled with discrepancies; a three-letter word that has caused fights, speeches, and daily quarrels. Yet in spite of all of this irrational behavior, many people forget to look back at the innocent, original meaning of the word. According to Webster’s 2005 Edition Dictionary, the term gay meant, “joyous and lively; brilliant.” However, if one were to open the page of a 2013 Edition, one would see that the definition now states the meaning as, “sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex.”

Just less than a decade ago the word was declared to have a completely different meaning, as well as a different perception. With so much technology connecting the entire world at one’s fingertips, words are changing constantly. On the whole, our society looks to speed up life in anyway possible—by shortening words, using slang or even finding new meanings that could potentially change the face of a language.

These new meanings often take negative connotations, making words bullets that shoot through the lives of people everyday. The natural, pure and simplistic idea behind conversations have turned into everyday fears like the dark, heights, and spiders.

The common cliché saying, choose your words wisely, has never been more prominent than it is now—because you might never know what you’re truly saying.