What We Lose When Words Lose Their Meaning

One of my biggest “AI icks” is when I see the phrase “performing [noun]” .e.g., ‘performing confidence’ or ‘performing warmth’.

Excuse me...what?

I know you can perform a dance or perform a task.

I know you can pretend to be confident or warm.

But a phrase like “performing confidence” hits my eyes and ears in all the wrong ways.

And no, I’m not arguing for language to remain stale or stagnant. I’m arguing for the opposite.

Linguistic evolution is incredibly fascinating. The English language has always borrowed, shifted, or repurposed words. And every generation invents shorthand/slang, that genuinely improves communication in fun and exciting ways.

My point is that the loss of PRECISE LANGUAGE — these linguistic shortcuts — flattens the very rich, diverse, and complex experiences we all have.

When we use one word to describe several layers of human experience or take a word out of the historical or cultural context in which it appeared, we lose something.

C. S. Lewis observed that the loss of a varied vocabulary directly limits our capacity to think. As he famously noted, “Men do not long continue to think what they have forgotten how to say”. Without the right words to define our ideas, our intellectual range suffers

I’m reminded of that scene in Dead Poets Society, where Professor Keating, played by Robin Williams (RIP), said, “So avoid using the word 'very' because it's lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don't use very sad, use morose.

Language was invented for one reason, boys—to woo women—and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won't do in your essays.”

Now you can argue amongst yourselves regarding the last sentiment. I’ve no desire to wade into gender wars or histrionic offenses.

Think about how English uses one word—love—for everything from “I love tacos” to “I love my wife.”

But the Greeks distinguished between eros, philia, storge, ludus, agape, pragma, and philautia because they recognized that human attachment isn't one experience but many. [Read more — 7 Types of Love (And What They Mean)]

See how much richer, juicier, and delicious that is?

Another quote from the film goes, "No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world."

I believe that — to my core.

But only if the words we use are precise and accurately convey our intention; only if they accurately describe context.

So much can be taken from us when we give up specificity.

As C.S. Lewis observed, "Men do not long continue to think what they have forgotten how to say." — Language and the Meaning of Words

We don’t merely lose vocabulary. We lose distinctions. And when distinctions disappear, so does our ability to perceive the complexity they once described.

Precise language invites curiosity. Broad labels invite certainty (read: demagoguery).

And part of me thinks that’s the point.

As I stated in my TEDx talk, “Being Good with You in a World of Comparison” (watch here) , learning to be still, to slooooooow down… that’s the key.

When we have—or take—the time to think, to process, to examine what we're reading, give thought to what we're communicating, and leave room for nuance, we become that much more resistant to manipulation.

I don’t want to go beyond the scope of this essay but you can see it in our news media just by comparing the headlines of state media to international news.

In ‘1984’ by George Orwell, Doublespeak is language deliberately designed to obscure, distort, or reverse the meaning of words.

Don’t even get me started on all the fun with words that advertising and marketing likes to have…

To reiterate, I am not against the evolution of language.

I’m resistant to language that substitutes interpretation for observation and implication for description.

I am rebelling against linguistic entropy.

Whether it’s generational or generative AI, I fear we lose something critical when everyone writes and speaks in a language that sounds meaningful but is ultimately fuzzy.

To quote C.S. Lewis once more:

“To say the very thing you really mean, the whole of it, nothing more or less or other than what you really mean; that’s the whole art and joy of words.”

You contain multitudes.

Do not let convenience, online culture, or popular convention rob you of your complexity or your capacity for self-expression.