Language is a rich tapestry of what we feel, what we see and what we record. Think of language as our lens to perceive the world. Chances are, as what exactly Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states, you will be led to believe that the language we speak influences how we think.
Odd as the counterargument would sound to you, the relationship between language and culture can be the opposite way round. That means our language we speak doesn't shape the way we percieve the world. Quite the opposite - one might argue that it's language that reflects our view.
I'll bet the debate can go on forever. The only thing we can agree is that we should mind our words. A recent British Medical Journal article about medical language will show you why.
A real-life scenario that exemplifies how doctors' language belittles patients: "Patient denies fever, chills or night sweats." To deny, according to the authors, is to refuse to admit the truth. Isn't that connotation of untrustworthiness?
Another not-too-uncommon language usage that emphasises the patient as passive of childlike: doctors "take" a history, or "send" patients home.
Now, there's no question that we can use language to blame patients after treatment failure: "the patient failed chemotherapy" rather than "chemotherapy failed the patient."
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