The Bias of Language

This article brought up points that we discussed at the very outset of AP English. Chief among these points was the idea that language is an extremely individual thing. One person may utilize certain words to mean something, but another person may use the same words in a different context. Specifically we looked at the "blue" chair; but what is blue exactly? What one person defines as blue may appear as more of a teal to another person. It is entirely subjective. The article brings up this point with the example of the three people who go to dinner. If the three of them were to write two paragraphs about their experience, it is highly unlikely that you would see the same words and phrases or the same impressions. What they wrote would be very different, despite the fact that they had all been attending the same dinner. These are all discussions that fit in nicely with our original discussions at the beginning of the year - however, The Bias of Language ventures into largely uncharted territory for us when it begins to discuss the bias of pictures. The article challenges the common assertion that while a picture may be worth a thousand words, a word can easily be worth a thousand pictures as well. Without words to ground a picture, there is absolutely no context. It is impossible to display abstract ideas with a picture, you can only create a sampling of the whole. That is why it is vital to use both pictures and words to communicate ones meaning, for pictures alone are unable to communicate ideas that words are.