Slaves exist today. What else would you call it when the economic system makes people desperate enough to walk into a sulphur hole barefoot to carry chunks of sulfur out that will be used in all sorts of industry, including the making of circuit boards for switches and computers that power the infrastructure we're using right now?
I get the feeling sometimes that language is unstable in the absence of outside forcing.
Stupid, moron, retard. People start using them as a pejorative and so a new neutral term is required.
Lavatory, toilet, water closet, bathroom. People don't like talking about poo so they keep using euphemisms to describe the room where it happens. This one is a favourite of mine as some people find 'toilet' distasteful despite it being the furtherest from the actual action taking place.
Very, literally. Not sure where this one is headed, but if it's happened at least twice, it'll shift again some time.
Are we doomed to keep shifting language to keep up taboos and keep the meaning of words which naturally will shift?
