Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Double meanings

oversight
o-ver-sight
	noun	1.  An unintentional omission or mistake.
		2.  Watchful care or management; supervision.
sanction
sanc-tion
	noun	1.  Authoritative permission or approval that makes a course of action valid. See Synonyms at permission.
		2.  Support or encouragement, as from public opinion or established custom.
		3.  A consideration, influence, or principle that dictates an ethical choice.
		4.	a.  A law or decree.
			b.  The penalty for noncompliance specified in a law or decree.
		5.  A penalty, specified or in the form of moral pressure, that acts to ensure compliance or conformity.
		6.  A coercive measure adopted usually by several nations acting together against a nation violating international law.
	tr. verb	1.  To give official authorization or approval to: “The president, we are told, has sanctioned greed at the cost of compassion” (David Rankin).
		2.  To encourage or tolerate by indicating approval. See Synonyms at approve.
		3.  To penalize, especially for violating a moral principle or international law.
Source:	The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth Edition. Boston:Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

The English language contains surprisingly many auto-antonyms, also called contronyms or Janus words (referring to the double-faced Roman god). These are words with multiple, contradictory, meanings. An extensive list -- 49 of them! -- can be found here.

I've selected two auto-antonyms in particular, because they're so emblematic of the failure of American governance and the Luntzian capacity for hiding damaging actions behind rhetorical tricks. How many times have we seen what is supposed to be Congressional or regulatory oversight -- of corporations, environmental dangers, the budget, intelligence-gathering, conflict of interest, port security, and on and on and on -- turned into oversight? How often does the government sanction activities for some groups and individuals while simultaneously sanctioning them for others?

Aside from observing these quirks in our language and our national dialogue, I don't really have much of a point to make. Readers are encouraged to draw their own conclusions, come up with their own examples.