The Power of Language

By: Rev. David Wilson Rogers

Among the greatest gifts given to humanity by our Creator is the gift of language. That amazing gift gives us the ability to transcend time and space, share our deepest thoughts, influence multitudes, and create amazing wonders. Many animal species are known to articulate some form of communication, but none have developed language to the level the human species knows. Truly, language is a powerful and wonderful gift. It is also a gift which requires tremendous responsibility and prayerful consideration.

Words have power in large part because of the symbolism they represent and that symbolism is frequently tied to emotional realities that only add power to the word. Making language both more complicated and powerful is the reality that the context in which a particular word is used may tremendously determine the level of emotional power behind the word. Consider, for example, the word “snowflake.” When used to describe winter precipitation drifting downward from the sky, the word will likely not elicit much emotional response. Yet, when used to describe a person’s political beliefs, the word may elicit a much stronger emotional response.

The use of contentious and emotionally charged, descriptive and derogatory language is increasingly common on the internet and throughout social media. It is, to a lesser extent, making inroads in main-stream and populist traditional media. It is also exerting a level of power that is increasingly dangerous and very tempting to use. Like-minded individuals champion causes and political opinions and seek to discredit those who would believe otherwise. Many who engage in on-line political discussions, read internet news, or gather political information from highly partisan news sources are likely to have both experienced and used derogatory language to describe viewpoints contrary to the preferred opinion. (In all fairness, I am not immune or exempt from this sin!)

Demeaning language has power. Personal political preferences aside, it is deepening the divide in our nation today. Consider the history of derogatory language in America. Frequently particular populations have been described by using derogatory racist phrases and terms which are not only offensive, but not even printable in this column. In virtually every conflict in which the United States involved, the identified enemy has been described in terms that are insulting. In the realm of partisan politics, political opposition has long been identified with a set of symbolic expressions which serve only to cast whole populations of people into undesirable stereotypes and generalizations.

The problem is that language has power—tremendous power to create, destroy, and define truth, reality, and the future. When language serves mainly to strip the full humanity of a person and replace it with a negative caricature of stupidity, incompetence, inferiority, or otherwise underserving of full humanity, it is a process called dehumanization.

Research demonstrates that as long as one group of people can dehumanize another group of people, the target of the rage becomes easier to hate, discount, or completely disregard as being relevant. The simple premise is that the opposing group simply does not measure up to the standards of the preferred group and therefore are not genuinely human. Without full humanity, nobody needs to listen to them, validate their worth, or care for their feelings. Yet when we devalue others and reduce their humanity, we actually only harm our own and tarnish the witness of Christ. Yet language can also heal, if speakers choose healing rather than hurtful words.