Word Power – Open Book Blog Hop #178

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

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Topic #178

What was an early experience where you
learned that language had power?

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Welcome back to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop! If you’re new to the series, the authors included are grateful for your reads and appreciate, even more so, when you share our writings with your friends. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. The authors engage and impress weekly. Be prepared to become a regular reader.

The power of the written word has been an understanding of mine through my entire life. I truly mean that. There was no discovery point for me. No grand epiphany. The power of words, speech or written, was an absolute without question. 

I know how spoiled I was to have so many books. My mother read Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit while carrying me. My babysitter was grandma and she had a small library of some amazing reads. The library was one of my favorite places to be. Watching the news in the evening was a daily ritual. I remember President Reagan and his speeches, and asking my parents so many questions about what was going on there. And then, there was film. 

A lot of people mistake film as a solely visual medium, but they’re forgetting the screenplay and the fact that speech is a main component. Film is a glorious marriage of mediums—which is why studying intertextuality is so fun with that art form. It’s why I made that a major focus in my graduate studies. Text. 

Think about all the ways that an idea crosses with other forms. For example, think of all the ways that Alice in Wonderland manifests through your life. Now, imagine if you didn’t have the meaning or understanding of Alice at all, as if it never existed. That’s the power of language. 

Language is what we use in our various cultures to communicate with each other. The intertexts, symbols, and signs of it all control power levels among the players. When any one of the parts fails, and miscommunication occurs, or communication fails, that is powerful, too. Think about how that can be leveraged on purpose. What about those who are masters of communication? Manipulation? It’s all in the words they use. 

The power of words is why editors beg us to avoid wordiness and passive voice. They’re looking for the most direct and clear usage in which to make meaning.

Those who understand the power of words hold the keys to the kingdom. 

Let’s hop to another author to find out what their moment was like…

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