Respect the Language
I remember how my junialeeg grandmother was so disgusted by any “misuse” of the English language. She had perfect penmanship and wrote grammar lessons into her correspondence whenever we misused a word in our letters to her. She thought there was a correct way of saying every word and that we should never stray.
Meanwhile, I view slang as a wonderfully creative expression, opening up all sorts of possibilities in language and communication. I love how words keep evolving and we gain new ways of expressing ourselves. And I love the English language for its flexibility to embrace new words and introduce new thought.
My grandmama’ would have been disgusted to hear the word “disrespect” used as a verb, but for me, the word has been granted the power of action in one simple twist. My daddy used to always tell us not to be disrespectful to our mother. We had a strong sense of guilt, so we would usually hang our heads in shame when he said this, but we weren’t always sure why.
If he were to say, “Don’t disrespect your mother,” his words would have gained momentum and power, from an economy of words and a truly active verb. It breaks the rules, and it is brilliant.
To shorten it even further, it becomes simply, “dis,” a small and powerful word where the concept of “respect” is so crucial to our lives, it need not even be said.