The Beauty of Language
I've been in love with language for about as long as I can remember (knowing me, it probably happened in utero). There is a beauty to its cadence, the lush rhythm of phonemes and morphemes, the geography of its syntax, the compelling pulse of meaning and intimation--language has captivated me! Used well, language is scintillating, it's sharp as Excalibur and precise as any laser scalpel. Whether its poetry or essay, the beauty of language transcends genre or idiom--it even transcends the particular language family it's in (I think German is a beautiful language, for example).
That's why I pay attention whenever a master of language speaks about that which I love. While surfing the net, I stumbled across this quote by Ursula K. LeGuin:
“Socrates said, ‘The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.’ He wasn’t talking about grammar. To misuse language is to use it the way politicians and advertisers do, for profit, without taking responsibility for what the words mean. Language used as a means to get power or make money goes wrong: it lies. Language used as an end in itself, to sing a poem or tell a story, goes right, goes towards the truth.”
- A Few Words to a Young Writer
Language is a gift that comes, ultimately, from God Himself--a way in which we can explore the human heart and the world around us, a way in which we can experience Truth and share that experience like early man shared fire. As with gifts, we must use it wisely, taking responsibility for our stewardship. LeGuin rightly warns against a co-opting of language, a perversion of its purpose.
While there certainly is a science to marketing and ad copy, there is no artistry in propaganda--and considerable peril, if you listen to Socrates. Language can wound and vilify, it can feed hatred and spin webs of deceit, clouding truth and confusing the conscience, dulling the sharp edges of right and wrong. Like digitalis, language is a medicine that, used incorrectly, can kill. Christ warned us not to "be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Matthew 10:28). Language is the chief weapon of those who kill the soul.
And yet, all words are, in an ultimate sense, reflections of The Word, through whom all things were made. Despite the danger, we are called to use this gift to help heal and restore the world, making songs "from the Shattered Drum" that is language. And so, in my own small and humble way, I will strive to do just that.
One beautiful word at a time.
posted by Keith Strohm @ 9:13 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
I too love language, though I make no claims at expertise. I loved learning ancient Greek, and reading New Testament Greek, because I'm charmed by the seemingly contradictory balance of brevity of language with nuance. I just bought a copy of the Amplified Bible because I enjoy reading Frances Siewart's very intelligent amplifications of word meanings based on the original Greek and Hebrew.
You raise a different notion though when you wrote: Like digitalis, language is a medicine that, used incorrectly, can kill. Christ warned us not to "be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Matthew 10:28). Language is the chief weapon of those who kill the soul.
While I agree that language is used by humans to stifle the soul, I'm puzzled at your use of that citation. The correct citation is "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Jesus is, of course, referring to God, not to motormouths and slanderers.
To bolster your point you should cite the 8th Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. This covers not only outright lies but also the propaganda and manipulation of verbal and written communications to harm or mislead others.
There, now you've gone and reminded me how much I'd like to be reading my ancient Greek texts and savoring the language, but they are, alas, in storage! Fortunately I have much in Latin, that beautiful language!
Mmajor,
Thanks for your insightful commentary. As for the quote, I was using the NAB as my source, and it uses "one" instead of Him. I've always taken that reading as a warning against Satan who, through lies and deception can convince a man to forfeit his soul.
So, I suppose from that perspective, I was warning against the disciples of the Enemy, who warp and twist this gift of God to confuse and ensnare humanity.
I like your citation of the 8th Commandment, and it does bring more to my point. Thanks for that!
As for greek, well...it's all "greek" to me. I LOVE learning about what words really mean (like the word "symbol" for example) in their original languages, but I think a sustained study of Greek would be beyond me at the moment. If I had the time to focus on it, there might be another story! :)
That's a beautiful quote from LeGuin, Keith.
Just another witness to the fact that the Holy Spirit can impress His truth into the works and onto the hearts of nonbelievers (like LeGuin) whenever, wherever He chooses.
I guess in that sense, we ourselves are the book He writes, are we not?
Kathleen,
I very much like your phrase! For sure, any truth that is True, points to God!
Keith
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