Language isn’t just a tool for conversing. It helps us perceive what we couldn’t see before and build what we couldn’t imagine before. But we often fall into the trap of judging people based on their language. The words they use or don’t, their familiarity or ignorance of ideas, and especially when they question perspectives we deem morally right.
We judge because language also creates emotion, which makes it harder to see another’s framework, contexts and influences. However, language’s superpower is its ability to invite in the new, first by creating paths to each other and then to the futures we wish to co-create…but first we need to learn how to handle language effectively. Donella Meadows (environmental scientist, systems thinker, and educator) offers crisp words of wisdom in this regard: “The first step in respecting language is keeping it as concrete, meaningful, and truthful as possible―part of the job of keeping information streams clear. The second step is to enlarge language to make it consistent with our enlarged understanding of systems. If Eskimos have so many words for snow, it’s because they have studied and learned how to use snow.”
None of us were born with the knowledge or perspectives we have. Someone taught us what we know. We honed our thinking by interacting with people, ideas, cultures, sub-cultures, and institutions. So did they.
For instance, if I go back to say 2015, I wasn’t aware of or using pronouns. That idea was introduced to my awareness by people and contexts, and repeatedly, so it doesn’t seem out of the ordinary anymore. But I bet if I use pronouns in certain circles even today, they won’t know or understand. That bridge wasn’t created for them. Same with cryptocurrency, carbon offsets, singularity and so on. And honestly, could I explain these ideas to anyone using Donella Meadows’ litmus test of concrete, meaningful and truthful language without referencing the internet first? No, I can’t. Most people are likely in the same boat. We know a little about a lot and a lot about very little.
Rather than judging others’ lack of awareness, we can direct our attention to the combination of ideas that intrigue us or seem valuable. We can hone our own thinking and language. We can share what we know and keep learning about what we don’t. The unfamiliar and intriguing will become familiar enough to shape our lens on the world.
We invite in fertile futures first through thoughts, then words, then actions. Great movements start with ideas and words, which when captured as accurately and cleanly as possible become bridges for others, alive and unborn.
“We don’t talk about what we see, we see only what we can talk about.” ― Fred Kofman, organizational advisor on leadership and culture.
