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The poet Jeffrey Skinner (1988, p. 65) muses that "Words rise and the sky accepts them, makes no comment." The sky may be able to afford accepting words without comment. However, Skinner adds that "The news, that blunt instrument, chants Now, now." Unlike the uncritically receptive sky, human beings risk peril when they are uncritically receptive. In their technologically mediated ecosystems, people risk peril with mass and Internet media chanting "now" (especially in an election or leap year!) when they fail to assess their verbal environments with semantic care. The robust idea of this paper is that a reciprocal relationship exists between the philosophy of general semantics and techniques of verbal expression in general and writing in particular.
The paper focuses on writing in particular yet applies to verbal expression in general. While writing can be improved through general semantics, general semantics can be comprehended through writing. More specifically, someone knowledgeable of general semantics can teach writing by applying principles and techniques of general semantics while general semantics can be taught through the writing techniques it advances. In this paper, it is explained how several concepts from general semantics can be used to teach writing and verbal expression in general; it is also explained how general semantics theory can be taught by applying several concepts that address the improvement of writing in particular and verbal expression in general. The mutual benefit is like a braiding that increases the strength of each individual strand. The reciprocal advantage of teaching writing through general semantics and general semantics through writing becomes further clarified through didactic illustrations of general semantics and writing.
Cicero propounded that speech gives facility to writing while writing gives precision to speech. Especially relevant to journalism, the theme of this paper follows: that verbal expression in general and writing in particular can improve by applying general semantics concepts while an understanding of the concepts of general semantics can be improved by applying its language techniques to verbal expression in general and writing in particular. With the conciseness of Cicero as a guide, general semantics improves writing, and writing elucidates general semantics. While the focus in this paper is on journalism due to its practicality as a mode of public and civic communicative discourse, all...