What and how we say things can have an effect on us and on others. It all depends on the content and context. Language has allowed humans to survive and prosper. We have been able to communicate with others based solely on the words used. However, those same words can create both tension and love.
Although words can have meaning, it is only the meaning that each person gives it. Change the words in a sentence and they can have a completely different meaning. One word can move someone to action and another word can stop a person in his tracks. Even the words you are reading in this article may have meaning to you; it all depends on how I write it and what you get out of it.
Single words can be given additional meaning by using other words. Eventually they form a sentence. The way they are structured within the award gives it meaning one way or another.
Now here is the trick regarding words and language. Many people tend to say one word like the thing they are referring to. For example, say the words “Statue of Liberty” since it is the Statue of Liberty. The words are only words and not the thing. It is the same with a map. The map is not the territory. It can be a representation, but not the area it represents.
However, people will get excited when a certain word is mentioned as if it were real. This can affect how we behave. Many advertisers will use words (and language) to affect our behavior so that we will buy what they offer. Politicians will use words to have an effect on how we vote. Poets have long used words to emotionally connect with us, just like storytellers. This happens in all languages.
Doing the words we say to ourselves can help or hinder us. What if I tell you to “try to do something” makes you want to take action? But what if I say “you will do something now” is it more powerful? It is the structure of how words are used that can influence their behavior.
Now if I say the word “dog” to you, what does it mean to you? You may think of a pleasant memory of a family dog you had as a child. Another person may have a terrifying memory of being mauled by a dog. It is the same word with different meanings to different people. Think about these words and what meaning you would give them: Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, Green Party, and Socialist Party. What about California, Alabama, New York, Kansas, Montana, Texas, and Washington DC?
What if you changed a sentence and said, “Dog bites man.” What meaning does that express to you? How about I say “Man bites dog”? Does it change things even if the same words were used?
As you can see, each one will have a different meaning to different people. Each can even cause a change in behavior in each person. However, they are just words, aren’t they? The only meaning they have is the one that each one of us gives them. Also, the way the award is structured will give the words a different meaning.
Look at the words you use in your own life. What meaning are you giving them? What emotions do they provoke in you? Do they create any behavior in you? If you were to think rationally about this, then you would know the words for what they are, just words. You are the meaning and resulting behavior of the words, not the words themselves. Language and words can have a profound effect on our behavior as long as we don’t know the reality behind them.
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