A kiedy (u)kradną nam słowa…
When they steal our words…

Summary/Abstract: The paper addresses issues related to the growing social phenomenon that has disturbing consequences for practice – in this case, everyday academic life in Poland. It consists of the critical categories of contemporary humanities; its “first words” are given content very distant from their original, traditional meanings. The meanings of these categories are often reversed, given secondary meanings or even made meaningless. As a result, many words are used as empty labels, fashionable words intended to add dignity to the speaker. The article’s author, referring to the metaphor of “stealing” words, raises three specific issues. Firstly, it presents a register of “stolen” words, three of which are the subject of detailed analysis – evaluation, quality, and dialogue. The second issue is a detailed analysis of the mechanisms governing changes in the meanings assigned to each of these categories and the effects associated with using “stolen” words in the everyday life of academies and dormitories. Finally, the issue of the “perpetrators of the theft” was raised. The author claims that one of them is the “seventh enemy from the seventh world of the field” – an entity that creates the everyday life of academic life, regardless of its place in the university’s social hierarchy.

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