Actions speak louder than words. There is no debate. A hug means more than a, “I’m here with you,” and a salute means more than a, “I respectfully acknowledge you.” With this firm belief, a lot of people ask me why I even bother to be an English major.
Well, actions may speak louder than words, but words still have meaning.
Not too long ago, I wrote an article paying homage to my favorite word: deipnosophist. Deipnosophist is such a cool word because of how niche the meaning is. When on earth are you going to need a word for someone who is skilled at dinner table conversation? Words like desticate, lunula, and globophobia also follow under the same umbrella. Because of the power words can carry, however, they exist no less. That is because, while often overlooked, words are entities.
What if there was a word for that feeling you have when you feel like you should be something more but aren’t? Well, there is leucocholy, or “a state of feeling that accompanies preoccupation with trivial and insipid diversions.” Or, what if there was a word that could only make abstract ideas and feelings more concrete. Surprise! There is. It’s reify.
Words reify our feelings every day: “I’m sad;” “I’m lonely;” “I’m happy.” Before those words, there was no way to describe the feelings inside us and absolutely no way for us to communicate the human experience to one another. Yes, a crying face may show someone is sad, but it could also mean someone is happy, crying tears of joy. Also, what about the people who don’t cry when they are sad? Words make up for this.
Even ASL, a completely silent language based upon movement, facial expressions, and actions, has words! It even has a word, or sign, for the word “word.” In fact, this whole article would just be gibberish if it wasn’t for the entities words have become with their assumed meanings. Even gibberish, a word that literally means meaningless, has meaning to your mind, to my mind, to all of us.
Additionally, words put things into and take things out of action. Wars are stopped with truces or treaties, not more battles. This sentence right here is why I chose to be an English major. Both truces and treaties are made up of words.
Speeches like MLK’s “I Have a Dream” force people to confront issues they are uncomfortable with. Sure, I can go protest some radical issue and flip off the news camera while I’m there, but at the end of the day, what is that going to do? I’m protesting because I am mad. They know that through my actions already. It’s the words I bring to the issue that solve it. Sure, I can go punch someone who I happen to be mad at, but what is that going to do either? Not much. It’s the words I say that express why I am mad. MLK knew this. He understood that dialogue and conversation must be sparked through verbal and written ideas. He used what millions of kids are told to use over and over until they oblige:
Use your words.
We aren’t told this enough anymore. Instead, once we reach adulthood, we are told actions speak louder than words far more often. While the truth probably lies in a balance of the two, everybody wants to be that hero saving the cat from a tree. Because of this, we take the guy that called 9-1-1 and used his words to address the issue for granted. I wouldn’t go so far as to make the statement words speak louder than actions, but I think oftentimes words can speak louder than actions. At least when we use the right words in conjunction with our actions. That right there is something we should all strive for.
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