The Fad Phrase “The Conversation” Reflects the Feminization of Discourse
23rd October 2021
Words go in and out of fashion all the time. For example, the phrase “the debate over” is fading out in favor of “the conversation around.”
My guess is that the change in prepositions is merely a fad. After all, prepositions in English are somewhat arbitrary, which is why it’s hard for people learning English to remember which preposition to use.
I don’t know whether it is the product of heredity or of environment, but compulsive nattering appears to be the way women relate to the world, especially to other women. This can be tedious for those of us who make a point of not saying anything when we don’t have anything to say, and wishing that other people would have the good grace to do the same, but there it is. I remember going to an SCA event with my late first wife to Tulsa, a four-hour trip from Dallas, and noticing that she didn’t stop talking for more than ten seconds at a time during that entire four-hour trip. It’s a gift; I couldn’t have done that even if I’d tried.