Spiritual poverty of speech


Zvonko Davidovic

I have laughed at jokes and anecdotes many times about Montenegrins who are considered great heroes, people who are not in the mood for work and stingy with words, so they usually say that every word is worth gold. Knowing these features of Montenegrins, a conversation with two Montenegrins would look something like this:

Ooooo ……. (thrilled about meeting and seeing someone)

EEE  ….. (the other person greets them back)

And? …… (one asks the other how they are doing)

Aa ……. (as if it’s not anything serious)

Uuuu ….. (sympathizes worriedly)

Ae …… (what can you do, that’s life)

It was exactly this old Montenegrin joke that reminded me of a recent statement by one of our ministers that seemed very much like this conversation.

The reporter asks the minister – Minister, how money did foreign investments bring last year?

Uuuuuuu …. (So much, I can’t even count how much)

Is it more than last year?

Uhuuu …… (does not compare)

But how many of those investments are newly opened?

Cccccc …….. (don’t even ask, a lot)

How much is invested in the zones?

Ihaaa ….. (a lot, I can’t even count how much)

How about outside the zones?

Mh, mh …….. (don’t ask stupid questions)

Thank you, Minister

Mmmmmmm ……. (you are welcome, but prepare better and fair questions next time)

Most often, the prosecution also prefers to respond with short, monosyllabic words that will make it look more secure and transparent. The press conference of the Public Prosecutor and the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption usually looks like this:

Are there anyone other than the two detainees suspected of having participated in the “Racket” affair?

Hmmmmm …… (we have suspicions, but I’m not telling you who)

Is there evidence that the Special Prosecutor is involved as well?

Aaaaaaa …….. (not sure what the investigation will show)

Is it true that one of the phones seized by the Special Prosecutor was formatted?

Ae …… (well what can we do, we are human as well, we were on vacation)

Are there any indications of involvement of senior public officials in the “Racket” case?

Paaaaa ……. (good question but we don’t like to interfere in politics)

Let be realistic, but not all are so stingy and short in their answers. Some of the officials behaved really correctly and know how to listen to the question and answer it fully and thoroughly. One of those officials was the Minister of the Environment, who told the reporter how unprepared he was, and how much he, as a minister, was in charge of the matter. When asked about the massive air pollution, he explained to the reporter that he was not concerned with the citizens but with the environment. Good thing that the reporter didn’t ask him about the Cold War, he would have probably mocked the reporter for not knowing that cold wars are usually waged during winter when it’s cold.

There are officials who love to talk so much that no one can interrupt them. They like explaining and telling stories and their monologue lasts for hours. Such was a MP of a minority party who is a member of each formation of the Parliament, an MP who is always in position and who rules with percentages, and is always 102.3% certain. Another MP was known for reading books to MPs for hours at the session or just stay silent, and tell his colleagues and the people so much with his silence, of course.

There is a saying used everywhere in the world “The government reflects its people”, but here in our country, because it is all perverted and vice versa and turned upside down, we say “The people reflect the government”. Only here, when two friends meet that have not seen each other in a long time greet each other with a cursing, which necessarily includes the mother of the other, followed by a hug and a pat on the shoulder. Sometimes when not much time has passed between the two encounters, the cursing is not used but they say “Where have you been, you faggot” certainly not as a sexual determination, nor as a character trait, but rather as a sign of closeness and connection.

Language and speech, culture as a set of interdependent values ​​and behaviors that are common to the community, but also culture of speech and behavior are the starting values ​​that build and develop a society. Speech, stereotypes, and the way individuals and groups communicate are not only telling a lot about the level of a society but also detecting its mental health. The way we treat each other and what we think of each other as individuals and as members of this society detects the speech and the words used in it. Speech largely conveys the identity of the person and the identity of the message.

What we have been able to hear over the past period as the speech of individuals, groups, and in particular the speech of public officials that govern the state shows a devastating level not only of language culture but of a devastating and concerning level of culture in general, of the system of moral values ​​and level of the development of society and its democratic development. The speech of these individuals shows an extremely low level of literacy and intellect, but also shows the mental attitude towards the responsibility and position they take, which is at an extremely low level.

Speech in our society is hate speech, labeling, discrediting, belittling, marginalizing and spinning, which only shows the identity of the person and their structure, transposed into attitudes and stances towards certain phenomena, issues and relations. Fake news is only a consequence of the low intellectual and moral level of society and is intended to support the speech of one party or another.

Human beings identify themselves with their language. Language is a constant companion of people, and with it, people grow and develop, complement and perfect themselves. The language a person speaks is the most accurate and faithful picture of the values ​​of spiritual culture. Unfortunately, terrible spiritual poverty reigns over our country.

Views expressed in this article are personal views of the author and do not represent the editorial policy of Nezavisen Vesnik