4 ms·

I don't think this has much at all to do with the words used. Give it a few goes and eventually "advice" will become the bad word. People will realise that the

I don't think this has much at all to do with the words used. Give it a few goes and eventually "advice" will become the bad word. People will realise that they're just getting the same response that dissuaded them originally from responding to requests for "feedback". It's not the word you use, it's way you respond to what you receive. My CEO currently asks for (and receives no) "questions".

kornakiewicz 10y ago
Words you use matter as well (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).
- colanderman 10y ago
  Sapir-Whorf is about grammar, not individual words: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity "The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition." (emphasis mine)
- colorint 10y ago
  Of course, it's just as likely that the causality is the other way around, and language serves paradigm. That is, new ways of talking about things are devised as new things to talk about are found. The two situations will look nearly identical in situ. I'm more inclined to agree with pricechild and the "euphemism treadmill" hypothesis.
- hughdbrown 10y ago
  What do you think the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is? I don't see how it is remotely applicable in these circumstances. It's not about words or diction. It's about language as a broad, thought-influencing and -limiting tool. It's about what is thinkable to someone who uses a particular language.
colanderman 10y ago
Yes, the title might as well be: "Unlock attention from villagers by shouting 'Wolf!'" Words only mean what the social structures surrounding them dictate that they mean. Attempting to change social structures by using different words ultimately results in nothing more than altering the meaning of those words to fit the social structures into whose service you're conscripting them. Cf. every generation of teenagers ever.

kornakiewicz 10y ago

Words you use matter as well (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).

colanderman 10y ago
Sapir-Whorf is about grammar, not individual words: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity "The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects its speakers' world view or cognition." (emphasis mine)
colorint 10y ago
Of course, it's just as likely that the causality is the other way around, and language serves paradigm. That is, new ways of talking about things are devised as new things to talk about are found. The two situations will look nearly identical in situ. I'm more inclined to agree with pricechild and the "euphemism treadmill" hypothesis.
hughdbrown 10y ago
What do you think the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is? I don't see how it is remotely applicable in these circumstances. It's not about words or diction. It's about language as a broad, thought-influencing and -limiting tool. It's about what is thinkable to someone who uses a particular language.

colanderman 10y ago

Yes, the title might as well be: "Unlock attention from villagers by shouting 'Wolf!'" Words only mean what the social structures surrounding them dictate that they mean. Attempting to change social structures by using different words ultimately results in nothing more than altering the meaning of those words to fit the social structures into whose service you're conscripting them. Cf. every generation of teenagers ever.