Languages are abstractions — they pretend to actually exist, but in reality they are more like amorphous relationships between the language’s speakers (or users). When one person uses a word and another person interprets that word’s meaning, there is no guarantee of absolute congruency — meanings can be laden with all sorts of connotations, there… Continue reading Linguistic Empathy & Community Boundaries
Tag: natural languages
Community — Compared to What?
There’s a sort of “pop jazz” song named “Compared to What?” and that’s the tune I have sort of stuck in my head as I am having these thoughts… — which thoughts? When we talk about community, it usually creates an intellectual divide between “Us and Them”, ingroups and outgroups. Yet these groups are not… Continue reading Community — Compared to What?