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Has America Become "The Chattering Class"?by John J. Fanning
I was riding in a cab the other day and the driver had the radio tuned to
NPR. Because the ride was short, I didn’t deeply interest myself in what
was being discussed by the people on the radio. But from the small bits I absorbed,
I knew the driver was listening to an African American talk radio segment that
centered upon political analysis.
I opened my laptop, preparing to answer some of my daily email, when I heard
one of the radio voices utter a phrase I had never heard before. The male voice
was apparently responding to a question about the Washington press corps and
political pundits in the nation’s capital when I heard him referring
to these people as the “chattering class”.
That got my attention.
Like a lot of people, I have a keen interest in words and phrases. I enjoy
learning new words and discovering them used in new or unique ways. Some people
get upset when they hear things that challenge the words or phrases they grew
up with, but not me. I like the fact that the English language is based upon
a combination of any and all known languages and I also like that English-speaking
people readily adopt new words into the English lexicon regardless of origin.
I think this is a major reason why English is such a popular language throughout
the world.
I know some might argue that the popularity of English is derived from the
imperialistic adventures and nature of traditional English-speaking people.
But, if that’s all there is to explaining the popularity of the English
language, then why isn’t French the national language throughout North
Africa and Indochina or German the national language of Central and West Africa?
And why isn’t Russian the national language in Poland, Czechoslovakia
or the other former soviet satellite nations?
Some historians and writers I have read make claim that English invaders
forced the Irish to speak and adopt the English language. While the assertion
that
the English attempted to suppress the Irish language is true, anyone studying
the Irish people eventually realize that no invader was ever capable of forcing
the Irish to do more than they themselves were willing to do. Following the
reformation, the English suppressed Catholicism in Ireland with greater and
more savage vigor than was ever directed towards the Irish language. Despite
these efforts, English Protestants failed to convert much of the island’s
inhabitants. Not only did the Irish people readily adopt the English language;
they cultivated it, nurtured it, and eventually turned it into a weapon which
they used against the very people who brought the language to them.
English is a language that knows no boundaries - either in the literal or
figurative sense. The English language is constantly growing and changing and
adapting
to the ideas and peoples who choose to speak and write in the language. English
today is a language as much derived from India and Africa as it is Great Britain
or America. The roots
of the modern English language can also be found
in Australia, the
Caribbean, the Middle
East, and throughout
Asia and the Pacific.
Every region on
Earth has a language
that has contributed
to the English language. As I write these words, new words and phrases coming
from all the languages spoken on our planet are finding their way into the
English lexicon and taking their place along with the Latin, Greek, French,
German, Italian, Spanish and other languages that, together, contribute the
words that make up the language we call English.
To be sure, not everyone is pleased to hear or read all the new words and
phrases coming from the media or modern writers. And I can understand some
of the concern
that has been voiced. Take, for example, the word “bad”. For centuries
the word resided within the language with a singular and irrefutable meaning.
Then, almost overnight, the meaning of the word not only changes, it reverses
itself! Now it is as common to read or hear about a bad actor - meaning a good
actor - as it is to read or hear of a bad actor - meaning a poor actor.
When you consider that words can arbitrarily take on entirely different meanings – even
the opposite of their original meaning - you see why English is a difficult
language for foreign tongues to learn, let alone master.
I think this is, in part, why my own interest is peaked when
I hear or read new words or phrases. In most cases, English speakers just take
in the change and it simply becomes a part of the language. But sometimes
when I hear a word or phrase, I have to ask myself just how this might impact
upon or be received by people not as comfortable with English as we native
speakers.
Mostly, however, I am interested how the English-speaking public will receive
a new word or phrase. Like this new phrase I had just heard - “chattering
class”. While I immediately understood the intended meaning behind the
phrase, I also felt it didn’t roll off the tongue quite as easily as
other phrases meaning the same thing like: “talking heads” or “political
pundits” or “nattering nabobs of negativity”. And so when
I heard this phrase for the first time, in that taxi, on that radio, I began
to wonder what kind of reception awaited this newborn and how long might be
its shelf life?
Would “chattering class” make it into the mainstream or is it
destined to disappear as quickly and suddenly as it invaded my hearing?
How and by whom a word or phrase becomes introduced to the public plays a
big role in determining if the public will accept and adopt it. Obviously,
the
spawn of a little known speaker on public radio might not have as bright
a future as
an accidental anecdote from a pop
ular movie star or politician.
To me, it’s those words and phrases that undergo a change in their meaning
that are most interesting. Words like “cool”, whose meaning changed
from being a state of temperature to a state of well being (I’m cool);
to an expression of interest (that’s cool); to a unique, personal characteristic
(he’s cool); to a state of normalcy (be cool!), I find fascinating. And
then there are phrases such as, “Beam me up, Scotty” which changed
from a minor bit of Star Trek dialogue into a cutting political or social comment,
each change being readily and seamlessly incorporated into the language despite
the fact that their meaning may rely upon inflection or environment. The phrase, “That’s
cool”, “it’s cool” and even, “I’m cool” will
have no meaning if spoken in a dark room without the assistance of inflection
or the environment.
Between 1100 a.d. and 1500 a.d., during the time when “Old English” was
spoken, there were about 55,000 words in the entire English language. Today,
there are about 1 million words in the language and new words enter the language
everyday. Compare this to German, which today has about 165,000 words, and
French, which has fewer than 100,000 words, and you begin to get a feel for
just how dynamic and dominant the English language has become. Now consider
that many of those 1 million words have more than one
meaning and some, like
my good friend “cool” can have five or six
meanings! Quickly
you see how difficult
it would be to
remain fluent in
English if one
stopped “living” in the
language. If someone were to invent a time machine that transported you into
the future, it is doubtful you would completely understand the language being
spoken in your own hometown, just 100 years from now!
And so, on that short cab ride, the phrase “chattering class” floated
around in my mind as I pondered the correctness of the word “chattering” as
opposed to “chatting” and tried rolling the phrase across my tongue.
Obviously, I wondered if I might ever use the phrase, and, in the end, I decided
that I might indeed; and in-fact did, and now I’m done and cool with
the whole thing and can finally move on.
So beam me up, Scotty…
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