• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Pardon my English

I marvel at the English language. I am struck by the bizarre spelling and the grammatical and usage rules that are routinely broken. I admire the exclusivity of 'good grammar', and I especially appreciate the rich variety of descriptive vocabulary and multiple meanings of many of them; often at complete odds with one another... I acknowledge that there are often ten different ways to say everything, and don't get me started on pronunciation...

In short, the English language is analogous of the complexity of the NT world which I navigate and the difficulties experienced by those of us who do not possess it as innate language. There is no substitute for plain speaking, but I have learned to use this complicated tool to articulate my world in ways most likely to reach those unfamiliar with it. But there is a danger here:

The tool with which I try to express the realities of my world, can be held against me in the most oppressive of ways. It would appear that my joyful use of the English language can, to some, appear superior - as though I were trying to highlight the difference in our ability/knowledge/class... take your pick. My choice of subject matter can highlight the same inequality, I am told. Should I adhere to the apparent norm, where only the most intelligent or privileged use correct grammar and the full range of their vocabulary? The idea that only superior, privileged people speak correct English with a large vocabulary, or that only Physicists are interested in physics is untrue and an NT social construct.

It is natural to me to use the full extent of the tools at my disposal, regardless of who I am talking to. Should I 'dumb down' to 'fit in'? 'Now hang on!' you may say... 'Just a few alterations to take into account peoples' feelings will make all the difference...' That sounds reasonable, doesn't it? But how does an Aspie anticipate what feelings might be hurt? (I will have made no prior judgments about a person's intelligence or vocabulary before I speak to them. I will not notice their discomfort with the language unless they tell me explicitly.) I do not 'talk down' to anyone... not even children, although I will offer simpler synonyms and definitions to them, along with my normal speech - they are much better than adults at telling me what they need.

The social world is a riot of complex, misleading and hidden cues that NTs tap into easily, often without conscious thought, so should expect an Aspie be expected to alter their speech to accommodate the 'hidden' feelings of the NT majority? I wonder if this isn't just as problematic as expecting an Aspie to know when someone is being sarcastic because we rely on the NT person letting us know what they really meant... surely it would be easier if everyone was more clear?

I daydream sometimes about what it would be like in a world where everyone only said what they meant, in simple terms, without subtext or contradictory expressions and body language... Where everyone would have an opinion that was fluid - based only on the available evidence at the time, without reliance on ingrained memory and social influences... Would this world be dull? Unemotional? Soulless? I think not. It would be honest, lively and liberating. The old adage of Equity over Equality would have no meaning: The barriers would not exist. No-one would feel alienated, or need to be lifted, propped up or rescued.


The famous 'Two Ronnies' Four candles/Fork handles sketch.

Comments

I've been thinking about this lately. I'm an NT but at the moment my life is so outside of what most assume to be normal or okay. It's given me great insight on how our world is structured. The falsies in the system that we just accept because we we've been raised to expect them as what life should be about.

This makes me think how real we are with who we actually are or in knowing ourselves or even just understanding things. We've given up this by conforming to social cues, culture etc. Like you said " oh you can't say that cos it'll hurt the feelings of this person" but so what. Why are we giving what someone says so much weight and then reacting around it. Instead of just saying are the words true? Is is something one can do anything about it and then just move on.

I hope one day more people can reach this stage of enlightenment because maybe then as a race we might be able to focus on what really matters and be a better people quicker
 

Blog entry information

Author
Chris Russell
Read time
3 min read
Views
1,177
Comments
1
Last update

More entries in General

More entries from Chris Russell

Share this entry

Top Bottom