Over time certain words with positive denotations have assumed negative connotations or interpretations. Words such as “sad” which began as “satisfied” changed to “serious,” “grave,” and “sorrowful.” Other words such as “Fun” was first a verb meaning “to cheat or hoax” became an old word for “fool” while”Bully” used to be a term of endearment for men or women.
In a similar vein, odious and shameful practices could in time become pious or fashionable trends. These socio-linguistical nuances make a bold statement about the place of Context in the protean nature of human Speech Acts and Communication.
For instance the act of skin-hair cut was once an identity tag that was worn shamefully by “sick” people , ex- convicts or “bald boys” or “bad boys”. They were the butt of diabolical jokes or maudlin pity.
The air around them was always so odious that they wore wigs or hats/caps into the shower and bed. Today, baldness is either a mark of potential or influential wealth or male virility.
How about “skin-head” aka, “clean shave”. This fashion trend of today was akin to leprosy ; just a while ago! Insultive cat calls such as “afari korodo…,” “gorimapa sahara” and “elewon” followed them around as houseflies on dung.
Not anymore! They are now fine boys looking sexy!
Interestingly, a “New Normal” has morphed into a “Newest Normal” in a COVID 19 context with its defining totem?! Face Mask.
It was, at its best, an ignoble distinction of “Highwaymen” and their sidekicks:”Cowboys”. Yet, good ol’ Night Soil men aka “agbepo” occupy a sickening distant memory of masked men. Another group of people who use them as a protection against the furious deserts are the Bedouins, shepherds and herdsmen a new normal local name for “terrorists”.
Today, the lovely irony is that criminals carry out their fiendship business masklessly and mercilessly, while law- abiding citizens conduct their businesses in public maskfully and faithfully. The masks have to be worn as an armour of faith against the onslaught of Corona Virus Pandemic.
Everywhere you look a “New Normal”: euphemism for “Normalised Abnormality” is in swing.
Then the arbitrary quality of human communication creeps up on you. And you see the absence of handshake between the meaning of a word and its linguistic or orthographic form. Don’t get confused ; more changes are up in the air. We are on an ever turning wheel that turns willy nilly!
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