TWILF Definition, Twitter, And The Slow Death of English

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TWILF GOOGLE TREND

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The day the word TWILF was created and uttered is one those moments that signal the sad decline of the English Language - our language and by extension our politics is in bad shape. TWILF is a vivid and coarse example of that decline.

First  a definition  of TWILF , according to the Urban Dictionary means Tweep I'd Like To Follow. In reality it is spin of the more ubiquitouos MILF...which has far more carnal connotations.

The clever originators of TWILF are the folks behind the satirical cartoon The Stupid Virus, shown on Current TV. It was used during a sketch about Sarah Palin. It has led some to call TWILF inappropriate.

However, TWILF is a symbol of something far more important than the next chapter in the Sarah Palin soap opera . It speaks to the speed at which such terms enter our vernacular and the impact that speed has on intelligent conversation.

So here is a brief timeline about the speed of TWILF. Current TV first posted The Stupid Virus  episode that featured TWILF on November 13th. At the time of this post it had 64,000 views. some the the comments referenced the TWILF and were clearly offended by the Sarah Palin association

The term TWILF took off from there, blogs, newscasts, tweet, re-tweets all of it scientifically captured on Google Trends, Tweetmeme and in the SCAN below -  "simply breathtaking," as a character on Seinfeld once said.

Before we go any further in our discussion of TWILF, time for a mea culpa. I am as guilty of perpetuating the term TWILF as much as anyone else. Hence, the endless repetition of it during this article, a feeble lunge at garnering page views, eyeballs and incremental ad revenue.

Now Public like many other media outlets  keep a close on keywords and terms that are trending in Google and Twitter - it helps inform news decisions. So, "TWILF is trending maybe I should write a piece about how it is killing the English language, get some page views and maybe make point out how such terms are impacting the English language and the News we receive."

To to get the core of why terms like TWILF are a problem we have to go back to 1946 Oh, and the quote is far more than a 140 characters.

Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language -- so the argument runs -- must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.

Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers. (source, George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946)

Orwell wrote that essay just after War World Two, huge chunks of Europe lay in ruins. Disenchanted with Socialism Orwell, saw before others, the threat of Stalin, and of how language could be leveraged to serve political interests rather than the public interest.

Case in point the lead up to the second Gulf War. The phrase "We can't let the smoking gun to come in the form of a mushroom cloud." uttered by then Secretary of State Rice and repeated by White House officials and an army of media supporters. It was repeated so often it became the official mantra for going to war.

Now, back to Orwell and Politics and the English Language

But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better.

What Orwell could not anticipate is the speed at which language corrupts thought. Indeed, speed and repetition are two things that undermine truth and clarity in language.

Social media services are perfect tools for the delivery of information quickly and repeatedly - the accuracy, clarity and veracity of that information is dependent on the judgment of humans.

Which brings us back to TWILF and its surging usage. To quote Orwell an effect [TWILF] can become a cause [TWILF], reinforcing the original cause[TWILF] and producing the same effect [TWILF] in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely.

So now we have a term that has currency, and has become part of our lexicon in a matter of days. Banal, as TWILF may be, those of who legitimize it are guilty of contributing to the coarseness and stupidity of our language.

I find myself guilt as charged although I will strive to do better. Frankly, I pine for the day when Orwell's Politics and the English Language becomes a top trend in Google or Twitter- after all it is less than 140 characters.