Free English Language Dissertations - Hence, The Development Of This Different Worldview Is Basically A Survival
Hence, the development of this different worldview is basically a survival mechanism during a time of great uncertainty and turmoil. The widely respected historian Hobsbawm has explained that 'generations grew up under the shadow of global nuclear battles which, it was widely believed, could break out any moment, and devastate humanity' (1996: 194). The fear that this knowledge brought to individuals naturally affected them on a very deep level. Through the use of an antilanguage, they were able to go on with the activities of daily life by designing a safe cocoon of illusory safety in which they could feelor pretend to feelsafe. As Halliday puts it, 'a social dialect is the embodiment of a mildly but distinctly different worldviewone which is therefore potentially threatening, if it does not coincide with one’s own’ (1978: 179).
Post-Cold War Language
When the five decades of decades of this war came to an end in 1989, the attitudes in place in society necessarily underwent a change, and that change was reflected in the language used as well. The fall of communism in Europe, combined with the end of the Cold War, were enough to bring new hope to the people of the United States. According to Mason, 'the vicious circle of threats and distrust was replaced by a new spiral of trust and reassurance' (1992: 187). In this mostly positive atmosphere, the constant threat of nuclear attack abated, and people were able to breathe more easily. The words of war lost the impact they once had.
As Hooten has explained, the words of war were tinged with fear, helplessness, and frustration throughout the years of the Cold War. After it ended, the words did not disappear from the language, but began to take on new connotations 'The words of war were once the moral and emotional defense of the nation, corresponding with the real memories and motivations of an embattled citizenry', asserts Hooten. After 1989, as images of war receded from the American psyche, 'the language of war invaded the common lexicon of America' (Hooten, n.d.). Examples of this are ubiquitous, and have become so common that we are often barely conscious of it.
For example, words such as 'defend' and 'bomb', which were once tainted by the association with war, have taken on new and less menacing uses. During the second half of the twentieth century, people may have felt a constant need to be ready to defend themselves in case of nuclear attack. Post-Cold War use of this word became something different: a politician may 'defend' his platform. The constant concern and ever-present worry about dropping the 'bomb' during the Cold War era has resulted in a transformation of this word as well:
'Consider again the numerous, non-militant ways in which the word "bomb" is used: Frat brothers get bombed on a Saturday night. Your new car is ‘da bomb. Did you see that comedian bomb on Letterman last night?
