I have always been fascinated by words: their denotations, their connotations, their nuances, and their impact on people’s lives. Words are powerful! They can kill, and they can heal (Proverbs 8:21). They live on long after the person who has uttered them has returned to dust.
As educators, I believe that we have a powerful tool in our hands—a tool that can shape not only the present but also the future of the impressionable minds entrusted to our care. I believe Edward Bulwer-Lytton was correct in saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Words can effectuate change.
World leaders have galvanized the masses into revolution and change of government using words. However, I ask myself the following: is there a danger in the misuse of words? Can we unwittingly use words to, in a sense, brainwash our students into accepting our ideologies, religious beliefs, and worldviews? Have we become indoctrinators of the very things in which we ourselves were indoctrinated in school?
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I believe the answer to these questions is a resounding, “Yes!” As educators, we sometimes purposefully use emotionally loaded words—or bend and shape our words—to convince our students we are telling them the absolute truth. Is this ethically correct?
The field of analytic philosophy delves into words and their meanings. A particular branch of this philosophy is called linguistic analysis, in which there is “a turn away from traditional philosophy (such as concern with absolute knowledge and truth) toward examining the ways people discuss and describe their conceptions of things and ideas.” In essence, it is an analysis of words and their meanings.
Although all words have a denotation—their “dictionary definition”—each word also has a connotation. A word’s connotation refers to the particular feeling that it evokes. According to the New World Encyclopaedia, “A denotation is the strict, literal, definition of a word, devoid of any emotion, attitude, or color. The connotation of a word or term adds elements of emotion, attitude, or color.”
The connotations of a word are often culturally defined as well. For example, what constitutes “good behavior” in one culture may not constitute good behaviour in a different one, and thus, the understanding of the word “good” varies. The educator, bearing this in mind, will often try to clarify the meaning of a word by telling students what that word means within their linguistic culture.
In Part 2 of this series, I will discuss our responsibility, as educators, to model Christ’s example in our selection of words as we prepare our students for the future.
Author
Eileen Ghali
Eileen is a lecturer in the Education Department at Middle East University (MEU) located in Beirut, Lebanon. She writes poetry and is dedicated to her students.