Meaning and Society

In my linguistics class, my professor was saying that all words are neutral. It made sense to me. I started thinking of some of The Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV. How come we think they're so damn offensive? Well, it's because we all agree on it. There used to be a whole lot more words you could never say on TV, but we have become ok with "minor profanity" like damn and hell.

My professor explained it perfectly: "You cannot divorce meaning from society." It encapsulates everything I could ever wonder about the meaning of words. It's kind of a cop out, but the fact of the matter is that society decides what counts as a word and what it means.

But it occurs to me that there is more to gain from this. Different societies will have different meanings and interpretations for words. Although this is fairly obvious, I think it's worth noting that meaning comes from society, not the other way around. If you are writing about a foreign culture, the way they use words and what those words mean is a reflection of their society.

Do a people use a lot of flowery language and beat around the bush? Then maybe they're very stratified and believe highly in formality and other social red tape. What if they shoot the breeze with you for half an hour before they actually ask you the question they came to ask you? A farming culture, used to literally watching grass grow, will be used to having all the time in the world to spend before getting to the point. If a people only use important words and never repeat themselves, then they could come from a fast-paced culture that is focused on efficiency.

These are subtle aspects to people that are easy to miss, but actually using them will add a layer of depth to your creations that will be felt, even if they won't be realized.