Comments on Do Words Matter?

This presentation brought to mind a film I watched in the third grade where the word master challenged the math master to see who was more important. Interestingly enough, the math master won. In truth, mathematics is the language of the universe. As such, words pale in comparison. However, like the presentation argued, words do matter. The words we say and how we say them are our most important abilities.

The saying that the pen is mightier than the sword is correct. How we communicate can influence the world. Take the word famous for example. If we insert the letters ‘in’ in the word become infamous and now has a different meaning. Words are powerful and misusing them often leads to negative results. Spelling is commonly accepted to be how we put words together correctly to bring about a meaning or context. Originally, however, the word referred to spelling or spell casting as it was believed that what one said bound earth and heaven. Another example is when someone says something that can negatively affect someone. In these situations we say that the person who spoke the words jinxed the other. If our words are enough to cause us to doubt outcomes, that should be all the more reason to watch what we say. We should not take what we say lightly as words can have a power all their own.