Theos-Talk Archives (October 1996 Message tl00374)

> >                      Plural Neutral Language
> >
> >     An interesting parallel to the gender neutral language thread of
> >which has been somewhat considered on the Theosophy List is that of
> >plural neutral language. The misconceptions of humanity coupled to
> >generalisations often find specific trends being developed in society
> >which do not really reflect the purity of truth from a much higher
> >level or viewpoint. Think for a moment on what I said about gender
> >neutral language in my previous posting, eventhough I mentioned only
> >a little about it.
> >
> >     There is another problem, though, besides those misconceptions
> >and generalisations: how far do we go in the experiment of social
> >engineering?
>
Language *cannot* be viewed as a stagnant entity ... it is not a matter of
"gender neutral" language being some experiment in "social engineering" -
it is a matter of what *sort* of "social engineering" our language will
accomplish. Do you really think the masculine language we've been using
all these centuries is disconnected from the treatment of women for all
those same centuries? *All* language "engineers" consciousness, it is the
catagories in which we learn to think. When you say "man" when you mean
"men and women", and "he" when you mean "he and she" - you are doing
"social engineering" to every bit the same degree as those you now accuse
of it.
								-JRC