|
control over terminology=cultural/political power.
in its everyday expression.
most arguments over meaning are therefore arguments over political space, control of it, opening it up, etc.
if all that was at stake about words were their dictionary definitions, then maybe you'd be right, fibber, that debate is a pointless exercize in semantic quibbling.
but the fact of the matter is otherwise.
you might think about a number of terms, as examples:
terrorism
insurgency
foreign elements
democracy
morality
pro-choice/pro-life
conservative/liberal
none of these operate in bushworld in ways that could be understood if you reverted to the false neutrality of dictionaries as a way to think about them.
__________________
a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
|