Total Genius Blogpost!!!
Can we retake our language from the marketeers?
What can we do to prevent misuse of words by marketing? This proposal hopes to add a small trick to our language. But only you can use it in the comments, I can’t use it for myself… Curious? Read on, because marketing helps kill the planet.
The corruption of language
Have you seen Disney’s latest ‘Classic’? Bought the ‘greenest’ car? Seen the huge ‘take down’ or ‘crushing’ of a person on Youtube? Seen this ‘must see genius’ there too? In all these cases the words aren’t real. They’re marketing, hyping, or outright lies.
This ‘classic’ is just Disneys latest movie, even before Rotten Tomatoes shed its light on it. The ‘greenest’ car is not as bad as most other cars, but don’t google environmental platforms for a reality check. The ‘take down’ turns out to be one clear snappy remark by an opponent, with a 7 minute explanation by the videomaker about why it’s brilliant. And the ‘must see genius’ is a boy who can keep a football a bit more funny in the air than most others.
To keep scoring attention we use ever more hyperbolic language. Because of this words become more and more hollow. Marketing steals words, overuses them, seeks to own them and then get us to buy their lies. Nothing can be unique when a million were made of it. Especially Youtubers shamelessly title their videos in overdrive to get more viewers. Sadly there’s those people too who take these undue wordings too seriously and go crazy. “Stalinist AOC threatens the USA with socialism!” is leading to death threats, by people who haven’t even tried to understand what she really is saying. We talk too much towards intended effect and too little from and about essence.
Can we change the game of word (mis)use?
This is the concept behind this idea; we cannot and should not seek to control what others think of us. We should seek ways to stop the infringement of marketing on all aspects of life. We live in a world where everything that becomes popular is turned into product or service, almost always damaging the original idea. Spelt, Avocado’s, Chocolate, Salmon and such were healthy, but now the industries around it, downgraded these products, polluted the planet and or suppress workers getting it. And in language we see the same happening as explained above. Can we change this game? Let’s try.
The New Word Game called: add ‘Ya’.
Add the word ‘Ya’ (pronounce anything between Yah, You, Yeah) to existing words to make them real, as long as it’s you using it about another. But adding a ‘Ya’ about yourself or as marketing is a terrible cringe. It means ‘big spin here, avoid!’. So ‘Ya’ is my personal opinion never a fact or advertising.
The additive Ya, means both Yes or You (have this), can be added to many words towards others. Using it about yourself though, whether as individual or organization, is out of the question! It should make you puke when you find a Youtuber use it about something, because he got paid to do so. This is a nono both for the agency and the Youtuber! Loserya’s.
Compare it to Black Americans, who may use the ‘N’ word among them, but no White person, or any other minority, should dare to touch it. Only in this case, with Ya, only others can use it, not you yourself, least of all organizations. With ‘ya’ no organization or person may seek to benefit from the use, this word is out of bounds for them. It is we the people who own ‘Ya’ for our opinions, but don’t ever claim a positive one was attributed to you or your products.
How this works in Practice.
‘Geniya’ (Genie-Yah) means ‘You are a Genius’ according to the one saying it. I think Wes Anderson is a geniya, but never want to see that copied on a poster. Saying this about yourself, or telling others someone told you so, is truly cringeworthy.
‘Greenya’ (Pronounce Green-yah) is Green because it attests to the highest norms we have about not damaging the environment, not because it’s green compared to similar products, through marketing. Patagonia is quite Greenya, but your electric car has still a long way to go.
Variation is the word ‘Greenisk’, a person or product that really takes risk to personally make a difference. Greta Thunberg is Greenisk. This is going beyond self justifying flying because you do little sacrifices. She lives her views.
So this Disney is a ‘classicya’ to me, and that ‘classic’ Disney just an overhyped new movie. Disney or any agency ever using the word classicya are spinners of the worst kind. A this ‘takedownya’ on youtube shouts sad Youtuber crying for attention. I just can’t wait for Trump use a ‘Ya’ for himself. I would call that #sadya.
Do try this at home.
So, try this for a bit and we’ll see what happens. Even if it doesn’t work, then the question on how to safeguard our language from spinners is essential. Get people at the least wondering about that.
Interested in more about language? Then read this post about how it’s shaped, among which power structures.
