Communication
Language is defined as "the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way". Basically, it's how we communicate. The way we use language shows a lot about who we are.
Steven Pinker talks about how we use language to allude to what we want to say instead of saying things directly. A lot of it is just common politeness, something that I had never though about as being "indirect" before. While he does exaggerate (I don't think anyone would really say "If you could pass the salt, that would be awesome"), he makes a valid point. Very often we use language in a way that benefits us, my including and omitting certain words or phrases. How many times have you written a short email which should take less than 5 minutes to write, but ends up taking 20 because you keep editing it and rewording things? I do that all the time. I can recall a specific example of what Pinker would call "calculated ambiguity". This year I unfortunately caught the flu right before exams; I was absent on the last day of the semester, which is when we had an AP bio test. I emailed the teacher to ask when/how I would make up my test, but instead of saying that, I said "So what am I going to do about my test?", in the hopes that she would just double my last test grade (which is what she does with quizzes) instead of making me retake it (which she did).
Sometimes this 'indirectness' does get tiring, like when writing a formal letter. You have to execute the formalities before actually stating your point, and that too in a "whimperative" manner. It would be a lot easier for both sides if we could just say what we mean, but as Pinker says, it's what we do ourselves and expect of others. That's just the way it is.
Steven Pinker talks about how we use language to allude to what we want to say instead of saying things directly. A lot of it is just common politeness, something that I had never though about as being "indirect" before. While he does exaggerate (I don't think anyone would really say "If you could pass the salt, that would be awesome"), he makes a valid point. Very often we use language in a way that benefits us, my including and omitting certain words or phrases. How many times have you written a short email which should take less than 5 minutes to write, but ends up taking 20 because you keep editing it and rewording things? I do that all the time. I can recall a specific example of what Pinker would call "calculated ambiguity". This year I unfortunately caught the flu right before exams; I was absent on the last day of the semester, which is when we had an AP bio test. I emailed the teacher to ask when/how I would make up my test, but instead of saying that, I said "So what am I going to do about my test?", in the hopes that she would just double my last test grade (which is what she does with quizzes) instead of making me retake it (which she did).
Sometimes this 'indirectness' does get tiring, like when writing a formal letter. You have to execute the formalities before actually stating your point, and that too in a "whimperative" manner. It would be a lot easier for both sides if we could just say what we mean, but as Pinker says, it's what we do ourselves and expect of others. That's just the way it is.
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