Charlatan

1) I don't see language as "conservative" at all. It can be conservative it can be loose and free... it can be anything you want it to be. Language is just a tool we used to understand the world around us.

2) I can't understand why anyone would want to say whatever they want? The whole point of being understood is that we have shared meanings to words. If some of us used the word "gratch" to signify the yellow peeled fruit while another group used the word "banana" to signify the same object, there would be a lot of confusion. As speakers of the English language we have agreed, historically, that the word "banana" is the word we use to signify the yellow peeled fruit. If we just used any old word meaning would be lost.

The same is true when you are trying to be specific. I could say, please pass me the screw. I could get more specific and say, please pass me a 2 inch #8 robertson wood screw. The second request gets a lot closer to exactly what I am looking for... of course I could just get off my ass and get the screw myself. To add to the complexity of language and dual meanings, I could walk up to a lady and ask, "Wanna screw?" If she doesn't see the peice of metal I am proffering with my left hand, she might be offended.

Context is eveything.

I don't want to just be able to say fuck or nigger or asshat all the time. To do this would degrade the meaning of the words. If fuck was not a harsh word. If it were as innocuous as the word flower (for example) it would not be as satisfying when shout, "Fuck!" after hitting my finger with a hammer.

Try it now. Smash your finger with a hammer and yell, "Flower!". Just not as effective is it?

__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke