Language Is Really My Thing

Paulien Cornelisse writes about language. Not about how it should be, or how terrible it is that there are people who say 'bigger than me'. No. It's about language as it is spoken at the moment. Sometimes it's disgusting, and sometimes it's touching. What is certain, according to Paulien Cornelisse, is that people almost never say what they mean. ('If I'm being very honest' seems like the prelude to friendly commentary, but is usually the introduction to harsh criticism below the belt).
Many people believe that we distinguish ourselves from wild animals mainly through the use of language. Paulien Cornelisse does not see language as a sign of civilization, but rather as a continuation of prehistoric social conventions. We are still busy grooming each other and yelling at each other, only now we do it in a much more complicated way. There are also people who do not want to admit that the discussion is now becoming a quarrel. For example, they say: 'Funny that you say that,' while it is not funny at all.