Information AboutGossip |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GOSSIP | |
| human communication | |
| communication of falsehoods | |
| social constructionism | |
| baháí teachings | |
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in Sindelfingen , Germany]] Gossip consists of casual or idle talk between friends. While officially value neutral, the term often specifically refers to talk of Scandal , Slander , or Schadenfreude relating to known associates of the participants, and discussed in an underhand or clandestine manner. Compare '' backbiting ''. While gossip forms one of the oldest and (still) the most common means of spreading and sharing facts and views, it also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and other variations into the Information thus transmitted. The term also carries implications that the news so transmitted (usually) has a personal or trivial nature. Compare Conversation . Some people commonly understand ''gossip'' as meaning the spreading of Rumor and Misinformation , as (for example) through excited discussion of Scandal s. Some newspapers carry " Gossip Column s" which retail the social and personal lives of Celebrities or of élite members of certain Communities . Gossip has recently come into the Academy as a fruitful avenue of study, particularly in light of its relationship to both overt and implicit Power structures. Compare Discourse . Researchers studying Computer Networks and Distributed Computing have recently begun to develop software based on what they term Gossip Protocol s. These mimic social networks as a way to carry out distributed computing tasks that can be hard to solve in other ways. (The term Epidemic Protocol is also used in this context.) ETYMOLOGY The word "gossip" originates from ''god-sib,'' the ''), referring to a relationship of close friendship. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the usage of ''godsib'' back as far as 1014. The Oxford English Dictionary records the use of ''gossip'' in the meaning of "idle talk; trifling or groundless rumour; tittle-tattle ... {Link without Title} asy, unrestrained talk or writing, esp. about persons or social incidents" back as far as 1811. This became a primary meaning of the word, although literary as well as everyday English can continue to use ''gossip'' in the sense of "talkative woman" (apparently a near-synonym with "godparent" in Early Modern English, the first attestation of the extended meaning of "anyone engaging in familiar or idle talk" dating from 1566). The verb ''to gossip'' dates to the early 17th century. Discredited folk-etymology Despite the academic etymology, one Popular Etymology (or Folk-etymology ) connects the word "gossip" with "to sip": See for example the popular-cultural account and discussion of the phenomenon as an Internet . the tale tells how politicians would send assistants to bars to sit and listen to general public conversations. The assistants had instructions to sip a beer and listen to opinions; they responded to the command to "go sip", which allegedly turned into "gossip". (Note the implied value (for power-brokers) that this story attributes to the uninhibited casual opinions and interests of "randomly"-encountered common people — compare Opinion-polling and Market Research .) FUNCTIONS OF GOSSIP Gossip can serve to:
VARIOUS VIEWS ON GOSSIP Some see gossip as trivial, hurtful and socially and/or intellectually unproductive. The Bahá'í Faith , for instance, refers to gossip as ''backbiting'', and condemns and prohibits the practice, viewing it as a cause of disunity. In a more sinister interpretation, restrictions on gossip could potentially paralyse the free flow of information and enforce Straight-jacket ed Think ing and Censorship in a community. The term "gossip" typically labels discussion the speaker disapproves of ("I discuss, you speculate, he gossips"). Compare Freedom Of Speech . A Feminist definition of gossip presents it as "a way of talking between women, intimate in style, personal and domestic in scope and setting, a female cultural event which springs from and perpetuates the restrictions of the female role, but also gives the comfort of validation." (Jones, 1990:243) In Early Modern England In Early Modern England the word "gossip" referred to companions in Childbirth , not limited to the Midwife . It also became a term for women-friends generally, with no necessary derogatory connotations. It commonly referred to an informal local Sorority or social group, who could enforce socially-acceptable behaviour through private censure or through public rituals, such as " Rough Music " and the Skimmington Ride . The literature of the period has many references to this, some of them doubtless fictional. In addition, legal records document actions taken by women themselves in the Civil Court s, and by the church in Church Court s. These include accounts of the rituals that shamed or celebrated women’s sexuality: women washing a neighbour’s private parts with soap and water, or ‘ Polling ’ pubic hair. In Thomas Harman ’s ''Caveat for Common Cursitors'' 1566 a ‘ Walking Mort ’ relates how she was forced to agree to meet a man in his barn, but informed his wife. The wife arrived with her “five furious, sturdy, muffled gossips” who catch the errant husband with “his hosen about his legs” and give him a sound beating. The story clearly functions as a Morality Tale in which the gossips uphold the Social Order .
Gossip in Judaism See Also: Lashon hara Judaism considers gossip spoken without a constructive purpose (known in Hebrew as ''lashon hara'') as a Sin . Speaking negatively about people, even if retelling true facts, counts as sinful, as it demeans the dignity of man — both the speaker and the subject of the gossip. According to '' Proverbs '' 18:8: "The words of a gossip are like choice morsels: they go down to a man's innermost parts." Gossip in Islam Islam considers backbiting the equivalent of eating the flesh of one's dead brother. Backbiting about somebody harms that person without offering any chance of defence for the victim; just as a dead person cannot mount a defence if one were to eat his flesh. Since Islam has the concept of universal brotherhood, one should treat every other man like one's brother. Gossip in Christianity Christianity condemns all kinds of gossip. The Epistle To The Romans associates gossips ("backbiters") with a list of sins including sexual immorality and with murder:
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