COMMUNICATION FRIDAY: Word Up
/As you may have perceived in previous posts, I love language. I love learning different ones, I love pulling them apart, finding out where the words come from and if the meanings have changed over time.
Recently I treated myself to a book by a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary Susie Dent, which looks at the etymology (the roots) of a word, one for every day of the year. One of my favourites is ‘perendinate’. You might be familiar with the word ‘procrastinate’, which comes from the Latin pro, ‘forward’, and cras, tomorrow - to put something off until tomorrow. Well, ‘perendinate’ goes one step further - it means to put something off until the day after tomorrow!
Not that I’ve ever done that, of course. *fake news*
What a word means to someone else can be very different to what it means to you, or even the original meaning in the dictionary. What means nothing to you can mean a lot to someone else. What is a joke to you can cause pain to another.
Most cultures, languages and traditions also have phrases that refer to the power of words and the impact they can have.
“Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
“Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.”
“The power of life and death are in the tongue.”
“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.”
“Do not speak with a statement for which you may have to apologise tomorrow.”
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” True? Quantifiably untrue.
Some people might feel that society has become far too touchy and sensitive (need I mention the word ‘snowflake’ here?), but before you dismiss this post, please hear me out.
Words can hurt us profoundly. Words have hurt YOU deeply.
Of course, words are not standalone and need to be backed up with behavior and actions, but we can often forget the impact our words have on others - on our families. Our friends. Our jobs. In a comments box on an internet post.
We are (or at least, we should be) more than bad vocabulary choices.
We have great potential to cause wounds, but we can also heal.
We can justify our chosen words due to an inner anger and desire to be right, or we can choose our words to be compassionate and cooperative.
We can hurt others by careless words we pick because we too are hurting, or we can acknowledge our own struggles but still choose our words wisely.
Has anyone hurt you deeply with their words?
How do your own hurts reflect in your words?
Can you think of someone who might benefit from your kind words?
What words can you switch from hurting to healing?
Do we care enough about others to be wise with our words?
