I think it might still be possible to 'jump off' the euphemism treadmill even while accepting that language changes. It sure seems like the euphemism treadmill is the consequence of deliberate 'prescriptivist' changes; not 'organic' change like slang.
I also think there's a kind of 'art' in, e.g. 'tracking prototypes', that prevents "the relational nature and inherent uncertainty of language" from _perfectly_ unmooring one from _any_ connection to an underlying reality. In practice, even 'pomo fanatics' are probably almost entirely 'practical' and unremarkable when using language outside of academic or 'intellectual' circles.
Those are good points!
I think it might still be possible to 'jump off' the euphemism treadmill even while accepting that language changes. It sure seems like the euphemism treadmill is the consequence of deliberate 'prescriptivist' changes; not 'organic' change like slang.
I also think there's a kind of 'art' in, e.g. 'tracking prototypes', that prevents "the relational nature and inherent uncertainty of language" from _perfectly_ unmooring one from _any_ connection to an underlying reality. In practice, even 'pomo fanatics' are probably almost entirely 'practical' and unremarkable when using language outside of academic or 'intellectual' circles.