>>Why do we have to adopt this terminology in the social world, when
>>referring to ownership, consensus and partnership building,
>>explanation, information and communication, etc, etc.
>
>Rosa Maria raises a good question, that being "Who controls the
>language we use to do what we do?". Social Marketing, Digital
>Divide, etc. are all terms that have been coined (created) in
>the "north" and all carry some implied meaning. In social process
>and social change "owning one's own language" is part of the
>liberation process.

There is also the issue of how language "controls" the way that we
think. Perhaps the most useful thing that communities like Mistica
can do is define a common vocabulary, so that within languages and
across languages we understand each other.
I believe that Mistica is on the way to doing that already because we
are willing to TRY to understand one another, rather than insisting
on our own definition all of the time. My lesson to my students is
that language is a powerful and potentially dangerous precision tool
which must be respected and used with care.
However, sometimes we may have to speak to "them" in "their" language
to make sure that they understand :-)
Deirdre

PS By "they" I mean of course those who habitually use "marketing" in
a world of business and profit :-)
Nearby Thu Oct 20 14:10:35 2005