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Gay English for the hoi polloi
It appears that some people are using the phrase “the hoi polloi” to mean “the elite” rather than “the masses”. I have never come across a better argument for a classical education.
I am sure some people will argue that this is simply part of the evolution of the language. The problem with significant changes of meaning is that it makes misunderstandings like. Even if current usage changes, it still makes it harder to read older written material.
The change from say Middle English to Modern English did not cost us much, because there was no large volume of written works. Now, every such change cuts us off from both the existing body of literature and the great minds of the past.
Of course, changes such as the addition of new words, new slang and so on are altogether different and (to my mind) welcome.
Another word that has changed its meaning, and is changing it again, is the word “gay”. Some people have been offended by its recent additional meaning of “rubbish”. If they are objecting to an unnecessary change in the meaning of the word “gay”, they are at least half a century too late.
The other defense of this usage is that it works. It means rubbish in a particular way, and I cannot think of any other word that conveys the meaning as precisely. It does enrich the language.
The underlying problem is the lack of a short neutral word meaning “homosexual man”. The word “lesbian” means “homosexual woman”. “Homosexual”, is strictly speaking an adjective, but using it as a noun to mean “homosexual person” is now acceptable usage. The specifically male word simple does not exist. Even “gay” is now sometimes used to describe women.
Apart from its old and latest meanings “Gay” is also a girls name, although not, any more, a particularly popular one.
A note for “classically challenged” readers: The “homo” in “homosexual” derives from the Greek word “homos” meaning the same, as in “homogeneous”, so it does apply equally to both sexes.
This hilarious article in The Telegraph grapples with the problem but does not reach a useful conclusion. Obviously “gay” has too many meanings (especially now), “queer” and similar words are pejorative. What does this leave us with?
My own suggestion is that we revive the now rarely heard “oscar”. Its derivation is obvious and inoffensive. It is short. The name is now rare. It might create a branding problem for the Academy Awards, but I do not think associating homosexuality with the entertainment industry is that much of a problem ….
Of course the good thing about all this is the potential for puns. One of my four year old daughter’s favourite poems is Edward Lear’s “The Dong with a Luminous Nose“. There are now three meaningful (by the standards of a nonsense poem) interpretations of these lines:
Long years ago, the Dong was happy and gay, Till he fell in love with a Jumbly Girl, who came to those shores one day
Even better, with the two current meanings of “hoi polloi”, there are six possible interpretations of the title of this post!
Comments(3)
some people are using the phrase “the hoi polloi†to “the elite†rather than “the massesâ€.
I think the word “mean” got lost in hyperlinking, or maybe just got missed when typing.
As in
…some people are using the phrase “the hoi polloi†to mean “the elite†rather than “the massesâ€.
Thanks Phil, it is corrected. Sorry I felt I had to delete the link to your site, but I am sure you can understand why.
Speaking of links, the hyperlink to that Telegraph article has the ‘h’ missing from ‘http’.
Sorry, comments are closed
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