Power of the word

Moving on from the post about power words, I pondered the word and language itself (without the power bit). What I mean is, I thought about how powerful language and the word really is and how often we do not pay attention to it, apart from those people who want to use words to entice people to their website to buy their product.

Words are powerful. Words can hurt and uplift. Words break hearts and start love affairs. We use words all the time, in writing in speech and yet we often do not think how other people will interpret what we are saying or what effect they have on people.

As a divorce lawyer in my other life I know how often people use words either inappropriately or without thinking. Having said that let us look at how powerful words are by examining my statement of being a divorce lawyer. Those words conjure up a totally different image in someone's mind than if I had written I am a family lawyer. The words divorce lawyer project someone who is aggressive and shouts at their opponent and fights for their client's rights.

A family lawyer does not nearly sound as aggressive as divorce lawyer (perhaps American television it to blame for this). The words family lawyer sound far more gentle than the words divorce lawyer and yet they mean the same thing. Both types of lawyers, the family lawyer and the divorce lawyer, deal with separation. The difference in terminology is more a cultural one I think. In America people talk and think of divorce lawyers, whereas in Australia and probably the UK too, people talk of family lawyers.

Or think of marriage vows. There are so many words in marriage vows. For richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to honour love cherish and obey and so on. How many people say these vows and really pay attention to them I wonder? No doubt a fair few.

When attending a talk given by someone who was exposed to domestic violence during her marriage she said "I took my marriage vows serious. For better or for worse. Trouble was I did not realise how bad bad was going to be. One day I decided that bad did not include being beaten by my husband on a daily basis and I left. I decided it was ok to break those vows." All powerful emotional words. And so true in so many ways.

I read the blurb for a book by Hal Urban who says that we live in an ocean of words and yet we rarely acknowledge them. What a great statement. I can practically see myself swim amongst millions of words, catching a few as I go along to examine them, occasionally being dragged somewhere 9like an emotional high or low) by a few of them.

Perhaps we should all think more carefully about the way we use our words. Can we be kinder, can we be more positive, can we be more precise? I am sure we all can do those things and more.

Here is someone's writing desk who was brilliant at using words - Goethe!