Words: The bridge of meaning

Summary: [You might view the earlier post “Language – the social tool” before this.] We interpret the data we receive from others during interactions and convert them into information that makes sense to us. It’s not the words that matter, it’s the meanings they carry that induce us to think and act as we do.


Often, we learn not to like differences, to reject thinking in ‘foreign’ ways if they act against the view of the world that our early socializations have given to us.

Stereotypes

Thus, stereotypes are, so to speak, injected into our psyches and triggered unconsciously to influence our thinking and our actions.

We interpret the data we receive from others during interactions and convert them into information that makes sense to us. The (emotional) meanings that are attached to the words - beyond what they denote - carry additional pointers.

We file them away in mind as schemas. They are then used unquestioningly to guide our activities, and provide reasons for our behaviour.

Preconceived notions

We might think that life in the business organization is a matter of critical thinking. However, all too often it relies on pre-conceived notions – of what is seen as ‘best practice’, what other people have done before, and most importantly what form of language and presentation company culture accepts.

It’s not the words that matter, it’s the meanings they carry that induce us to think and act as we do. What this means is that managers need to encourage communication – and indeed conversation - to help people monitor talk and prevent the unconscious practice of infusing life into stereotypes.

Function of education

The function of education is partly to counter-balance conditioned patterns of thought – to subject connotations, schemas and stereotypes to the hard light of analysis and evidence.

We can learn to refuse the promptings of our unconscious schema, and the stereotypes that our memories push before us. But it is not easy – and when we are tired, poorly educated or otherwise less in control, the stereotypes and connotations can retake command.

Conversations – getting used to others

We need to realize that effective communication is not limited to or controlled by either ‘stock of words’ or grammar rules. With language we connect, and it’s by no means a simple tool.

We need to recognize the power of its connotative side that can more easily break than make the global associations we strive for. We need to recognize the need for constant vigilance. Conversations help; they enable us most to get used to others.

And, what we get used to helps us to change, gradually, what we might have brought to our adult lives unquestioningly - the mind-set, and thus, the ‘sense’ we draw from words.

Perhaps this is what language in diversity really stands for – for each of us, a bridge of meaning from past to future.

Comments/opinions, anyone??