The Justification For Learning Words

We cannot get around using them in one way or another: words. They make up our language, our thoughts, the manner in which we express ourselves. They might not launch a thousand ships, but we need words to describe the face which did and what those ships went on to do in their travels, in the war that followed. Many of us love words, the magical way in which they are strung together to create an image in our minds, to take us to different worlds, to show us what other people have seen, often many centuries earlier.

It is words which change Guy Montag from a man who destroys, through his meeting with the young Clarisse McClellan, into a man who saves, a man who sets himself against the laws of society and who seeks others to preserve our wonderful heritage, the words we have written to prevent past times becoming lost. Words lead our thoughts on to greater things – at least, that is the idea – as much as to a sense of community, to social interaction, to being a communicative soul amongst others on the same level, with the same interests, with a desire for knowledge. We are shaped as much as judged by the words we use.

As young children we experiment with the words that we hear, use them on our parents, on friends, on strangers we meet in the street. What is said can be amusing, can be strange, can raise more than a smile when we’re not using a word correctly, but we are communicating. We are learning through the reaction of other people to what we say. Gradually our treasure chest of words forms a complete language, which we tailor to our own needs and according to those we meet, those we mingle with. Things said to one person do not work with another, and we learn what can be said in order for us to be understood, in order that we fit in. Few people wish to be an outsider: words and actions linked to words are our key into society, into friendships, into relationships.

Those of us who write are always seeking out new expressions we can use, new ways of telling a person we will probably never get to meet what is on our minds, what we wish them to visualize. Sometimes we find a word which just slips across the tongue like strawberries and cream, which has so many possibilities, is so evocative, we just burst to use it. Whole books can be written around a single word, explored in all its facets, torn asunder, reinvented, paired with countless others. A single word builds a picture in our minds, and we enhance this image for other people with new words, with description, with characterization, with depth. We want those who read our writings to appreciate every small point of this word, its connotations, its color, its wealth. Sometimes we even invent new meanings for this word, try to fit it into a sentence which, whilst perhaps not quite right, seems to work on one or more levels. We challenge our readers with a new interpretation, attempt to awaken something in their minds.

Above all, though, whether what we have created works in every sense, whether we can speak to every single person who takes up our efforts and devotes their precious time to what we have written, we continue to experiment and to learn. Perhaps, one day, the monolith that is society, or classic literature, or even accepted language, will change slightly, accept our adaptation, see the world through our eyes.

Love & Kisses, Viki.

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