By Tom KandoTo be human is, above all, to name things. Other things have been mentioned as our defining feature - the opposing thumb, our large brain, our large penis, the fact that we make love ventrally, etc. But our real distinction is that we use language; that we label things, label each other, label ourselves. It is through labels that we identify things, people, ourselves. It is through labels that we decide what things and people are, including ourselves. Of course, words are also used for obfuscation.
So now, for the fun of it (voor de grap), I am going to tell you some of the things I am:
I am a cis-gendered male born in Eastern Europe during World War Two. As a child, I was a philatelist, but I kicked the habit early. Although I emigrated to the US, I always remained a xenophile. Sometimes I even suffer from Europhilia, but a quick trip across the Atlantic usually cures me of that. Professionally I have been a Symbolic Interactionist. Politically, I used to be a RINO, but that was years ago. My tastes are sometimes Habsburgian, and I tend be a monovore. I sometimes suffer from Ypologistophobia.
Translation:
I am a male who is comfortable with his gender (as opposed to someone who is trans-gendered), born in Eastern Europe during World War Two. As a child, I used to collect stamps, but I kicked the habit early. Although I emigrated to the US, I always remained attracted to foreigners. Sometimes I even suffer from a bias in favor of European culture, but a quick trip across the Atlantic usually cures me of that. Professionally I have been a sociologist who specializes in social psychology. Politically, I used to be a Republican in name only but that was years ago. My tastes are sometimes gaudy, and I tend to eat the same kind of food most of the time. I sometimes suffer from a fear of computer technology. leave comment here
11 comments:
A philatelist would "lick" the habit, not "kick" it.
Tom,
Fun post but as usual, you have touched on something both profound and near and dear to my heart.
Here's my take on the subject of labeling.
It is true that we divide the world up into nouns, often embellished with adjectives. But our nouns have no legs of their own. They are merely servants of the story we wish to convey.
We populate our stories with noun-ish things in order to lend substance to the explanations of the world we wish to convey. In other words, we fill our stories with facts that serve our purposes moving forward into the future.
Academics encode the world using esoteric academese to assert their expertise at reduction. Doctors encode the world in terms of pathologies and dysfunctions. Religious zealots encode the world in terms of moral truths. Young men encode the world in terms of the physical attributes of their females counterparts. Military warriors encode the world in terms of conflict with enemies.
And so we go...
Thank your for your comments, Anonymous and M.
Anonymous is funny, M is sophisticated. My original post belongs to the former category - a jest.
This is an excellent post! So often, words add precision, but sadly they can also promote obfuscation. And there's the "shibbolith factor," too, where knowing certain words will include you or exclude you from a particular "club."
I love the way Americans make nouns into verbs and verbs into nouns. Crazy, no?
Nice post Tom. The more words you know about someone, the better they can be understood.
The word Ypologistophobia seems to be your own invention, in a 2007 paper I found here: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/k/kandot/i%20spent%20my%20life.pdf It may need a bit more use before appearing in a dictionary. Or, maybe someone else's term for the same phobia will supplant it.
You are probably the same guy who masticated at the table in front of your parents and whose sister worked as a proselytizer in front of churches. Committing a piscatorial act from a ship flying the American flag is another thing entirely.
Ah the use of words.
And you were the best Symbolic Interactionist at CSUS when I was going for my BA/MA. I loved every class of yours I had.
Naming has long been an interest of mine. We learn the importance of naming early on...e.g. the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin. Ursula LeGuin, in "A Wizard of Earthsea" employs the power of naming as a major theme. "You won entrance by saying your name. Now you may win your freedom by saying mine...He knew a thousand ways and crafts and means for finding out names of things and of men; such craft was a part of everything he had learned. Without it, there could be very little useful magic done..."
How nice, to get so much feed-back, even from anonymous former students. Great comments. I was hoping that others would come up with additional funnies, like Jerry, and other sources, like Susan O. I suppose Gordon is right, it'll be a while before my word "Ypologistophobia" becomes every-day usage. Barry's point is excellent. This is one of the many things which make American English so vibrant
First, I am not sure I would ask you to join us in a game of Scrabble.
Second, even after several years with the computer industries evolution, I understand your feeling completely. My word might be more disdain, than fear. But nevertheless I use it all the time and rely on it for many many things! Thanks for sharing so many ideas and opinions!
Terry
I want to thank Terry for his comment.
Actually, my wife beats me at scrabble every time. And I am also terrible at cross words puzzles. That's my daughter's forte.
My excuse is that I am a linguistic mess: My first language was Hungarian, which I spoke for my first 8 years, in that country. We then moved to Paris, so I switched to French for the next 8 years. After that, we moved to Holland, where my primary tongue was Dutch for the next decade or so. Finally, I came to the US in my early 20s, where I learned English as not my 2nd language (ESL), not my 3rd, but my 4th!
Bummer.
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