Why words matter
What is the point of language? And how do you know what words mean?
I would suggest that the purpose of language is to communicate (this might seem pretty obvious), and therefore, language is only communication if it’s communal.
In this definition, language is not simply ‘sound’ that has inherent meaning attached, but rather the use and meaning of words is at least in part defined by the community. Words are not discovered; they are created.
These might seem like relatively straightforward ideas, and yet we seem to regularly skip over the relationship between words and understanding. If language held inherent meaning, then we would never have ambiguity; there would be no need to define our terms or even the use of our language.[1] A YouGov study from 2018 looked at how words are understood positively and negatively, and found that there is a relative scale to how words are understood, e.g. ‘unsatisfactory’ was (in general) seen as more negative than ‘bad’ – but importantly, some people would have put these two the other way around, and said ‘bad’ was more negative than ‘unsatisfactory’.[2]
This is important because we can and will use words which are then misinterpreted, even in small ways, which will have an effect on what is being understood. Likewise, language is often used to generate specific emotions, which affect how people act. This emotional pull affects how we understand words. In this sense, meaning is more than definition: as Wittgenstein would put it, meaning is use! Think, for example, of how swearing can be understood negatively or positively – the same words can be endearing or offensive.[3]
Now we might see this as making individual words redundant, after all, any word could now carry any meaning. And if that’s true, then how do we communicate with any clarity in the first place?
But if all language is dependent upon use, then choosing specific words becomes more important, not less, if we want to be clear in our speech and writing. However, it is never just words alone; the context, tone, structure, or even the cadence all convey specific ideas. Likewise, the way language is mirrored in action matters. If we use words, tone, etc. in ways that are expected to result in a specific type of action or emotion, which then doesn’t materialise, then we devalue this use of language, or the rhetoric of specific people.
I once attended a church for about six months, and despite all the rhetoric from the front about how they’d ‘love to welcome me’, no one on the church staff team ever spoke to me one-on-one. Now this was a large church, and it’s possible this was just my experience. But did I feel welcomed by the team? No. Instead, it made me disbelieve what they said. Words matter, and so do their associated actions. Likewise, the common public official response to tragedy is something like ‘my thoughts and prayers are with the families at this time’, but if this statement is not accompanied by action, then the phrase’s sentiment is devalued.[4] For this reason, words and actions in pastoral, educational, or teaching contexts matter as a cohesive whole. It’s not just important that we understand the meaning of the words, but that this use and understanding are accompanied by appropriate actions.
Everything above taken into consideration, the continued use of violent or aggressive language in politics/the public sphere is taking on new and specific meanings and in the UK and the US, we’re seeing political violence (coming from the right and left).
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Side note: discussions about how left-wing politics are becoming more violent are increasingly common. As though the right isn’t. This specific critique seems to ignore the violence from MAGA supporters on the Capitol or right-wing anti-immigration protests in the UK. Don’t believe the lies that it’s a left-wing problem; it’s not. It’s a cultural issue.
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This rise in violence shouldn’t surprise us. There has, for quite some time now, been increasingly violent and aggressive language (and tone, etc) used to describe political opponents or ideas. Some examples might be the idea that immigrants are all ‘fighting-aged men’,[5] ‘fuck the Tories’ or that we need to ‘fight for our country’, or what have you. If meaning is tied to action, then using aggressive language is likely to lead or encourage aggressive behaviour(s). And while you might decry the violence perpetrated against your sphere of politics, if you continue to use aggressive language, you are part of the problem.
Christianity is not separate from this problem, and the way in which many churches tie their theological positions to political ones can have seriously problematic results (post on this coming soon). Christians, as much as anyone else, can use and propagate problematic language, including in the public sphere, but this doesn’t only affect society; it affects how the church at large is viewed. Don’t hear me as saying Christians should shy away from public discourse, but do hear me as saying this will have very real consequences, both now and in the future – not all of these will be good (you won’t find many Christians today defending the crusades, for example).
We all need to take care with what we say and how we engage. We should all avoid jumping to conclusions. Words and actions combined have real power, and this can be used for both positive and negative ends. Trying to see issues from another’s perspective and working out how to engage with care is imperative in today’s political, social and religious climate, and so is trying to be clear with what we mean. Defining our terms and trying to remove the ambiguity is super valuable in public discourse (though we might never manage it completely).
[1] For example, are words being used analogically, or univocally or equivocally?
[2] YouGov, How Good is Good?, (2018) https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/21568-how-good-good
[3] Think Hot Fuzz’s ‘dirty bastard’ and ‘cheeky fucker’,
[4] This seems to be the standard sort of response from the pro-gun lobby in the states every time there’s a mass shooting. But what does this really mean without any sort of action? After all, ‘Faith without works is dead’ (James 2:17).
[5] I’m a fighting aged man, and few people would have a problem if I tried to get a job in Europe, why is that?