2003. 6. 6 Speech script _Changing English 김선일

[콜리]

Before computers were invented, the words byte and modem did not exist, and a mouse was something that made some people scream and run away.
Words are added to language every day , but not only as new things ate invented.
Changes in society also cause changes in language. For example, today the people of the former Soviet Union use words like free market and capitalism.
Changes in attitude also affect language. As people become more sensitive to the rights and needs of individuals, it becomes necessary to change the words we use to describe them. The elderly are now called senior citizens. The handicapped are described as physically challenged . Many of the words we once used had negative feelings attached to them. New words show an awareness in today's society that differences are good and that everyone deserves respect. Even the names of certain jobs have changed so that workers can be proud of what they do. The trashman is now calling a sanitation worker, a doorman is an attendant, and a janitor is a custodian.
Many of the words we use to identify people have changed many times in recent years. Sometimes it is difficult to know what is right and what is wrong. Do we call a person of color a Black or an African-American? Is it better to say Native Americans or American Indians? And whatever do we do with the Man of the Year? If we don't know what the proper words are, then we must use sensitivity, respect, and even a little imagination.
One important influence on our language in the past decade has been the changing role of women in modern society. There was a time when an unmarried woman was called a spinster. But that was before women went into space in rockets, worked underground in mines, and were managers of corporations. As women entered more and more areas that were once thought of as men's jobs, it  became necessary to change the job title. For example, a mailman is now a mail carrier, a watchman is a guard, a lineman is a line repairer. And the Man of the Year? Well, she's the Newsmaker of the Year.
These new attitudes have also helped men, and some job titles have been changed to include them. Stewardesses are mow called flight attendants. A laundress is a laundry worker. and a maid is a houseworker , because men wash floors too.
sometimes the way words have changed seems awkward and silly, such as using chair for chairman, fisher for fisherman, and drafter for draftsman. But change is never easy. People often fight change until it becomes a familiar part of everyday life. women have fought long and hard to be treated equally in language as well as in society because they know that language can cause changes in attitudes. If every person isn't referred to as he, people will begin to realized that men aren't the only ones who are importnat or who have made great achievements. Most words that indicate only one gender have been replaced with words that refer to both males and females. Thus a poetess is called a poet, a waitress is a server. and mankind has become humankind