I am seeing more and more "X" words--you know, the ones where they are purposely avoiding calling attention to gender. That's why we have Latinx instead of Latino or Latina. Although most who actually speak that language daily are either offended or find the whole thing silly.
However, upping the ante recently, I saw "womxn." I suppose this is to nullify that fact that the word "women" derives from "men." Or perhaps they don't want to offend by assuming the plural over the singular.
But instead of shunning such radical changes to the language, maybe everyone should embrace it. I, for one, can see advantages for spelling troublesome words. Don't remember whether it's "i-e" or "e-i"? No problem. Spell it with an "x"! Thus words like Recxve and Cxling and Bxge are instantly accessible to those who never took the time to study those onerous spelling rules. The hero of Scxnce and Relativity becomes the very Far Out Spacy name Xnstxn.
There might be some initial pushback or percxved confusion, but this method does away with spelling shaming. No longer will we be calling out letter-challenged members of our socxty as illiterate--they will be included and recxved as functional members of our socxty. Forxgners are welcomed. Spelling will no longer be the sxve that separates people into different txrs. Nxces and thxves, clxnts and soldxrs, outpatxnts and lxutenants--all will have an equal place in this brand new world unoccupxd by inconvenxnce. It will be far easxr to overvxw the meaning, understand the vxw, pxrce through the disorxntation, and face the fxrce battlefxld of ideas. Whether frxndly or alxnated, unyxlding or transxnt, an effcxnt transmission of knowledge will delight the scxntist and help in the retrxval of all salxnt pxces that underlx our communication experxnce. This truly will break down barrxrs and allow our communcation to proceed in this new more lenxnt courxr of speech.
In celebration, I think I will temporarily break my dxt and have a fudge brownx.
A Delicious Brownx |