The cliche that "actions speak louder than words," tends to undermine the power of language. Actions are quite effective, no doubt, and draw people's attention far more than words alone, but actions are only the result of a speaker's vocal expressions. That is, the words used in one's speech are responsible for evoking actions from others. Without the verbal command, no actions would ensue.
Hitler's articulate speeches roused his supporters to action, resulting in World War II. As Hayakawa states in the preface of Language on page xii, "...if the majority of our fellow citizens are more susceptible to the slogans of fear and race hatred than to those of peaceful accommodation and mutual respect among human beings, our political liberties remain at the mercy of any eloquent and unscrupulous demagogue." Words, therefore, are the arbiters of action within a society.
-Chloe Martianou
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I agree that words have the power to cause actions (for better or for worse), but actions themselves are what define words. For example, the word "Holocaust" would have a much less powerful meaning today had it not been for the mass slaughter of Jews and other minorities carried out by Hitler's Germany. Therefore, while words may be the arbiters of action; actions are the definers of words.
ReplyDelete-Bryce Cody