Secrets of Mind and Reality

Meaning Of Words

There is a popular attitude in this country among a certain misinformed segment of the population that the meaning of words is somehow fixed in stone. It is just amazing how many people believe this. People act as if words have one single definition which has always been will never change until the end of time as we know it. In reality, however, the meanings of words are highly malleable. Meaning changes depending on who is saying the words, what day it is, what situation they are in, and any one of hundreds of other factors.

I think I sensed this when I was a kid. My parents were very into training us to be resourceful children, so when we would ask for the meaning of words, they would have us look them up. Looking up words in the dictionary as a child was initially confusing to me. A lot of the time, the meaning of a word as it was explained in the dictionary didn’t quite match up with the book I was reading. Slowly but surely, I began to realize that the explanations of meaning were only approximate. They worked in some cases, but did not work in others.

As a linguist, I have dedicated my life to the meaning of words. I’m fascinated by definitions and the way they shift based on different cultures and subcultures. If you take a word like liberal, terrorist, freedom, faith, enemy, or anyone of thousands of politically contested words, you can see how people intentionally distort meaning to serve their purposes. The problem is that many people never really think about the meaning of words. They don’t understand that the language we use is intentionally manipulated behind the scenes, because they don’t understand that language is malleable. I find this endlessly frustrating.

Still, I am somewhat reassured by the fact that, for many children, an understanding of the meaning of words is a simple as opening up a dictionary. A love of language can start in early childhood, and can last a lifetime. This is why I’m careful to always get dictionaries for all of my young relatives. I may not be remembered as that cool uncle who got them a video game, but I might inspire something far more precious and ultimately more enjoyable than a few hours of gaming: I might inspire a lifetime of learning. And in my opinion, that’s one of the most precious things you can give.