One thing I noticed about the feelings we associate with words is that they don't seem to be concrete. Hayakawa brings this in chapter five, saying, "The meaning of words also changes from speaker to speaker, from hearer to hearer, and from decade to decade."
I got thinking about this and realized that in some cases, we are so sure about what we think a words means that we don't remember what it started out meaning. This is particularly apparent in words that use to be harmless in meaning but now are considered derogatory or taboo. As an example, the word that use to simply mean 'female dog' is used as an insult. However, this word is still used by dog breeders and fanciers. Many people hear or see this word being used casually in relation to dogs and get quite offended. They assume that the only way the word can be used is as a curse.
Does anybody else have any thoughts on this? It's just something I've been mulling over for awhile.
-Melissa C.
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That's a good thought, Melissa. I completely agree that meanings of words aren't concrete. Like it says in that quotation you gave, words don't mean the same thing to every person in the world. The meanings change according to each person's experiences. Often, people don't realize that words have multiple meanings. The meanings of words also change according to people's feelings. The word "cat" undoubtedly means something different to a person who likes cats than to a person who is terrified of them.
ReplyDelete-Audrey