It’s one of the craziest thought I have ever had. But this is exactly what we seem to require today.
How would it have been if the words we were individually sanctioned to use were governed by a daily quota? For instance, each word had a rating based on a ‘point-system’ and we were allowed only a certain upper-limit of points each day.
The longer or more sophisticated the word, the higher the rating. Proper Nouns could be exempted. Abusive, offensive, and obnoxious words would have a rating so high that it could give the user a bad score and could even result in a penalty in the form of quota annulment for a period as decided by the regulatory authority. So basically it would be like they were asking you to shut up!
And after reaching the upper limit, one would be rendered speechless or ‘wordless’ (literally speaking) for the rest of the day.
There would be no carrying forward of balance words, that may have remained unused, from a particular day to the next day. There would be no ‘reservation quotas’ of any kind. Everyone would be equally allowed the same quota, irrespective of caste, class, income level, etc. Gender discrimination could however be considered; with women being sanctioned a lower quota than men (pun intended).
No transfer of word balance would be allowed from person-to-person. However, the quota allowance would be reviewed from time-to-time and those having a track record of sensibly and responsibly using limited words over a certain period of time would be given certain privileges like some freebies or some brownie points. The system would not be designed for buying or selling of words.
There would be no separate quota for the spoken word or for the written word. Both forms of word delivery would be clubbed together for the purpose of calculation. So we would have a choice of only speaking or only writing or striking a balance between the two, at our discretion. Use your quota as you wish.
There would be only two ways to possibly increase one’s word quota. One way would be by listening to or by reading another’s spoken or written words. Thereafter one would have to fill a ‘Quota Increase Request Form’, explaining what was read or heard. The words used to fill the form would not be deducted from the applicant’s daily quota, but there would be a word limit on the form. The form would be analysed and rated, and accordingly the applicant’s word quota would be increased very marginally.
The other way to increase the word quota would be either by saying or by writing something genuinely nice about someone else or about something else. It would be reviewed and accordingly the word quota would be enhanced.
Basically, the more one would read or listen, to understand, the better it would be for one’s word quota. Everyone would start talking or writing sense. People would listen or read more and talk or write less.
