Past and Present Views on Gossip Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research

Past and Present Views on Gossip Culture is constantly changing the prevailing beliefs and trends of one catch can vary substantially from those of a nonher. A significant consequence of this hea thuslyish flux is gradual evolution in the nubs of some intelligences. Since language is course tied to culture, it is not surprising that these pitchs occur. Words have heart and soul solo in the context of the current social climate therefore their definitions change synchronously with cultural progress. The meaning of the word gossip, for example, changed several times over, from its professional definition of kindred relation to its present definition of empty talk. How did this progression take shape? As troupe adopted new trends and beliefs, the meaning of the word gossip changed from having religious connotations to having much social connotations.The original meaning of the word gossip had strong religious undertones, implying that society and culture then were very religio us-minded. Stemming from the Middle English roots god and sib, the word gossip referred to a person who sponsored a baptism and shared a weird rapport with another. During this time period, Christianity was a newly emerging religion, and one of its nearly sacred rituals was baptism. It was also becoming an increasingly important part of society and culture. Undermining baptism, therefore, would have been an insult to the religion, but associating it with spirituality would have been an avowal of Christianity, a recognition of this new motor in large numbers lives. Sponsorship of a baptism and spiritual proportion were connected primarily because religion was such a predominant force at the time. However, the word gossip progressively lost its religious connot... ... talk of the town about other people, even in a negative way, is not just socially useful but indispensable (Cohen B7). Cohens point emphasizes that the madcap force behind this etymological evolution is often cha nge in the social environment, particularly in the attitudes of the people using a sealed word. Gossip in its original sense was probably used in ecclesiastical circles. As ordinary people started using the term more frequently, the word gossip started to lose its religious undercurrents and slowly gained social connotations. utilise by women, the terms definition evolved to reflect an activity shared by many of them. Today, the words derogatory sense may reflect increased cynicism among people. As Cohen points out, though, the meaning of the word gossip is likely to change, and this change hints at possible trends - and kinds of people - society will face next.