Words...What's in a name?

Language is the basis of society. It is what drives society and its people in their everyday lives. With language, comes the written word. This is how language can be communicated throughout the years from generation to generation. The written word, however, can become more complicated and confusing than the spoken word. Many times, the labeling of things makes them more complicated. Things such as time, we can understand as a concept. Once we label it with a word, calling it “time,” and try to describe it through words, it becomes infinitely more complex. Understanding things through description is much more difficult than through careful thought and imagination.
Another issue brought forth is that of connotation. The meaning placed behind words. A good example of this is words that are considered vulgar. Many of these words have relatively neutral meanings, but the society places meanings on these words. One example of this is the word “bloody.” In the Americas, this word has no particular meaning, but overseas in countries with British influence, this word is deemed inappropriate. This is not due to the meaning of the word, but rather, the meaning placed n the word by society. Connotation can also be considered in the use of words in the spoken language. Emphasis and word stress make up the majority of word meaning. In other words, it’s not what you say; it’s HOW you say it. Someone could say something as simple as, “You look nice today,” and it might not be a compliment at all. It could, in fact be a cutting and sarcastic remark. Learning to master stress and tone quality is very important in the use of language as a tool.
A third concern with language also stemming from the labeling process is that of naming. If something is named, it exists. I have a pencil in my hand. The pencil has a name, it is an object I can see and feel, thus it exists. What if something lacks a name and description? Does it exist? We’ve never seen it, felt it, looked at it, described it, etc. We know now that there is such a thing as gravity. Hundreds of years ago, people did not know what gravity was, they had never seen, felt, or described it. Today we have discovered it, named it, and described it, and thus, to us, it exists. How does language make something exist? Description makes things real to us. So to make things real to ourselves is to make things actually real. Gravity to those before Galileo didn’t exist, and things that do not exist to us, may soon exist in the future. Crazy thought, huh?