Why does harmful language hurt

In a New York Times op-ed published on July 14, , the psychologist Lisa Feldman Barrett argued that long-term stress can inflict serious damage on a body. One cause of long-term stress? But this litmus test, like all taxonomical devices, represents a hazy and contentious spectrum. The disagreement Haidt and Lukianoff have with Barrett is definitional.

But Haidt and Lukianoff have committed a fallacy, too: treating a word as something with an immutable meaning. They have conflated the meaning of the word with its dictionary definition. What, then, is the meaning of a word?

To aid in his search, Wittgenstein invented the language-game, a tool for examining and comparing the innumerable instances of language. These rules are established through social convention. We agree upon certain constraints about how words may be used and bring them to our language-games.

Having a common reference point like a dictionary helps facilitate communication, but when the dictionary is treated as the ultimate source of linguistic authority, we become too focused on satisfying definitions instead of interpreting the content of speech. Thinking in terms of language-games widens our considerations, and can help elucidate nuanced ideas and situations.

In a way, each language-game is spoken in a micro-dialect, one that is affected not just by region, but location, relationships, identity, history, power. For people who occupy positions of power in society, there may not be a single word they would ever consider violence. What Wittgenstein found in the circulation of ordinary language, however, was a free-floating currency of meaning.

The value of each word arises out of the exchange. The lexicographer abstracts a meaning from that exchange, which is then set within the conventions of the dictionary definition. This well-studied language system is part of the evolutionarily new and in humans, enlarged cerebral cortex—that most recent and most human embellishment of the primate brain that makes us so much smarter, in the ways we are, than other animals. This is a nice, clean story.

This field began with a case study from a French physician named Jacques Lordat in He wrote about a parish priest, a man of God, who had suffered a serious stroke. And as a consequence of the stroke, the priest retained little ability to speak. He had what we now know as aphasia, which more than a million Americans currently suffer from. His vocabulary was reduced to just two words.

They find it difficult or impossible to intentionally articulate words or string them together. But some spontaneous language is still preserved—including some of the most vulgar verbal ejaculations in the language. What this discovery means is that different ways you use language—speaking rationally versus swearing spontaneously, for example—must be generated by different parts of the brain.

The famous language circuits I described earlier are only one of two pathways in the brain that produce language. Spontaneous swears are generated somewhere else. But where? We know that this somewhere else must be on the right side of the brain, not on the left like the traditional language centers.

And the evidence comes from a pretty amazing source. There are people—like a patient pseudonymized as E. Sometimes the sender misuses words, which may distort the message and lead to misunderstanding distorts the message. The sender should be accurate and familiar to both the sender and the receiver to avoid misunderstanding.

We must report acts of terror quickly, accurately, fully and responsibly. Terrorism is a difficult and emotive subject with significant political overtones, and care is required in the use of language that carries value judgments. We try to avoid the use of the term "terrorist" without attribution.

When we do use the term, we should strive to do so with consistency in the stories we report across all our services and in a way that does not undermine our reputation for objectivity and accuracy. The word "terrorist" itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding. We should convey to our audience the full consequences of the act by describing what happened. We should not adopt other people's language as our own; our responsibility is to remain objective and report in ways that enable our audiences to make their own assessments about who is doing what to whom Li et al.

To avoid misunderstanding and get his message across, the sender should use accurate and familiar words to the receiver. No one can bear rude language. For example, a In the Arab society calling a person "you pig" means "you are dirty" is an offending word.

The use of rude words or expressions will provoke negative emotions. Above us is Allah" and" under us goats" Blair was obviously puzzled as he could not see anything very insulting in translation. But the Russian word for "goat" is very rude when it is used about people. Blair could not see the insult because, as Chechens live in the mountains, above them is "Allah" and under them are mountain goats Ter-Minasova: , pp.

It sounds rather poetic than insulting. The sender should avoid rude words or expressions because they may hurt the feelings of the receiver and provoke emotions. Using Jargon:.

They are overcomplicated technical terms or unfamiliar words or abbreviations used by professionals like doctors, engineers, pilots, scientists to enhance communication by simplifying a particular concept to the receivers.

For example: a in the computer jargon, 'to burn a "CD" means "to copy the data on a CD". To a common man, the word 'burn' may have a very different connotation. These mistakes can create communication problems in written communication. For example, aperson makes a mistake of typing "done"," don" " buy" "bye" "meet" " meat" "Lead" "lead" "red" "Read". They are understood by their context or pronunciation. The spelling and grammar checker of the computer does not label it as wrong as "don " is also a correct word.

But the word can change the whole meaning of the sentence or make the sentence not understandable. To avoid such mistake, the sender must use dictionary to verify spelling, use spell-checker computer to ensure that spelling is correct or ask someone to proofread your writing c The word language of aviation which consists of words and terminology is a combination of professional jargon and plain English. It was created to avoid pilots and air controllers mishearing and misunderstanding each other and avoid potentially fatal accidents taking place.

Lunenburg: , pp. Following several such air traffic accidents. The International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO suggested English should be the international language of aviation, and that pilots and air traffic controllers - must have basic knowledge of it and take exams Fischer et al.

Informal words and phrases used in communication that often exclude specific groups. Avoid idiomatic expressions or slang. American English is full of idioms. An idiom is a distinctive, often colorful expression whose meaning cannot be understood. The sender must not use slang in order to reduce misunderstanding.

Usage of rude or slang language can impede all the efforts of communicating verbally. Communicating in a foreign country can be confusing if no one speaks your language or any other language that you know. Similarly, it can be frustrating not to understand the meaning of certain words that the locals use.

Even when they try to speak English, you may find some of the things they say impolite. For example, the Thais often use the common word "farang" when they speak to western people. This word may sound negative to Westerners. It makes them feel looked down upon and angry because Guava in Thai is called "farang ".

The same word is also used for white people. To a Thai person, the word" Farang "does not have any negative connotations. Semantic problems often arise because of the gap between the meaning as intended by the sender and that as understood by the receiver. This happens when the receiver does not assign the same meaning to the word as the sender had intended. Words can express a variety of meanings depending upon their, i.

For example, the word 'yellow' when used as an adjective can have multiple connotations depending upon its usage. Hence, the receiver is free to interpret it in any of these ways based on his imagination, educational background, and experience.

But for communication to be perfect, it is essential that the receiver must assign to it the same meaning which the sender had in his mind while encoding the message. Therefore, there is always a possibility of misinterpretation of the messages. Mostly, such problems arise when the sender does not use simple and clear words that can convey the exact meaning to the receiver.

A single word has different meanings for different persons. If both the sender and the receiver choose different meanings for the same word, then it causes a semantic barrier. Improper words may result in unclear or distorted messages and create a bad impression. For example, In Arabic Culture, the word" redman" communist or a" man dressed in red "or a "man with a red face". Or a" bloody man".

So, if people do not understand the words, they cannot understand the message. The sender should choose his words carefully in order to bridge gaps, build relations, and create understanding.

They are not clearly or explicitly stated or expressed. Ambiguity arises when the sender and the receiver of the message assume different meanings to the same words, phrases, and sentences or use different words to convey the same meaning. A sender often assumes that the receiver can understand the meaning of these words, phrases, and sentences as he does. For example, The Israelis misinterpreted the text of the UN resolution article i " Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied the West Bank and Gaza in the recent conflict.

The Israeliargument is that the withdrawal phrase in the Resolution was not meant to refer to a total withdrawal, because there is no word "all" or "the" before "territories" in the withdrawal phase. Taylor et al. But anyway, it must be placed in the context of the rest of the resolution that calls for a total withdrawal of the Israeli Army from the Palestinian occupied lands in To avoid such misunderstanding, the sender should use clear, precise language, stating exactly times and locations and names.

Choosing ambiguous words or terms to convey your message will lead the receiver to confusion and misunderstanding. You can avoid any ambiguity by repeating the term or using alternatives. Ambiguous communication means open to many different interpretations. A language barrier can appear when the sender and the receiver do speak the same language. People speaking the same language can have difficulty understanding each other if they are from different regions of the same country.

Dialectical and accents differences, the use of slang and regional colloquialisms can create numerous problems that may lead to misunderstanding and gaps in communication. For example, an incident described as a type of the risks of not speaking the same language, the crew of a Lot Polish Airline Boeing struggled to communicate with British air traffic controllers after their electronic flight displays went blank in instrument meteorological conditions following a departure from London Heathrow Airport.

The Polish pilots are unable to communicate their problems to the British air controller. Werfelman: , p. Language barriers generally result from the lack of understanding between the followers of the three religions.

Each one of them has a different concept for God. The sender should use dialogue to communicate with the receiver in order to overcome misunderstanding.

People speak the same language, but dialectical differences can create misunderstanding and gaps in communication because the meanings, implications, and interpretations of words are different.

For example, India uses over. Major languages, each spoken in one particular region and each language has a number of dialects and regional variations which might not always be mutually understandable. Narayan: , pp. This might also be a cause of obstacles in communication. Americans think Asians have an accent, and Asians think Americans.