The Politics of Words

Daniel Cafarella
Nick Hayes
Honors FYS
04 September 2012
Words
In todays world, wording is often overlooked as a track of study history. Words are not plainly a fit of sounds, they have their own etymology. A word that people rehearse everyday could have had an entirely different meaning in the past and they often carry connotations that many people overlook. These connotations heap be utilize to more(prenominal) all-encompassingy understand societies in the past and in the present.
For example, the word plague literally gist a contagious bacterial disease. However, it comes from the Latin word plango meaning to strike. The two words may at first await unrelated, yet when put into historical context their relation becomes more apparent. Throughout history societies believed that when someone got sick it was because they had done something to deserve it. Disease was often seen as a form of penalisation for wrong-doings, and served as a warning to others to stay away. Innocent people were scorned and made into outcasts because people believed that interacting with them would bring the wrath of theology to their doorstep.



In reality they were not far from the truth repayable to the contagious nature of these diseases, yet without an understanding of bacterial diseases this was their way to explain what they witnessed. This tells us a lot about ordination at the time. People were afraid, confused, and willing to do anything to avoid this punitory judgment.
One can further understand history by looking at words as reflections of the undertones of society, rather than simply combinations of letters with their contemporary meanings. Language is a tool used by humanity to communicate. Its structure and its history are principal(prenominal) to understand and allow one to grasp at the duds that link us to the past.If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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