Devolution of language

The devolution of language is the often-corrosive affect that culture, primarily entertainment, computers, sports, and politics, have on the meaning of words. Some examples include:

• "message" now means something very brief, and usually non-substantive, due to the influence of instant messaging
• "link" now means a clickable reference to another website, rather than a substantive connection
• "liberal" once met generous or enlightened, or committed to constitutional government and individual liberty, but now means demanding funding for abortion and censoring prayer in school
• "media" now means the press, rather than modes of transferring information. The singular "medium" has largely been lost

Devolution of language also applies to vocabulary in general. Low literacy levels fostered by liberal education systems reduce readers' ability to comprehend words commonly found in literature but not used in unintellectual entertainment and media. One report stated that the average 14-year-old's vocabulary has decreased 60% since 1945.

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