High school english teachers are the worst! There was on high school english teacher in particular, in an attempt to prove something in a distopian novel (1984? brave new world? don't remember) indicated that the method the thought police would operate would be by forcibly eliminating functional/dangerous parts of language itself. Lacking the nouns and constructs, the mind would therefore not be able to think or concieve those same concepts. Duh.

My arguments that if words could not be wrapped around a concept, then a new one will arise. She said my argument was invalid because new words are never invented.

My other argument that people can construct complex grammatically correct sentences without knowing the *names* of those same grammatic rules just fine didn't fly. She insisted the name of something and the concept of something is one and the same. Argh. I think I got a horrible grade too.

Calvin