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Language and Context: Destabilizing Narratives

October 25, 2019

context, manipulation, narratives, society, words, writing

Words are powerful, they can make or break situations big and small. From your Friday date to starting a war, the right (or wrong) words can be the difference between bliss and destruction. But have you ever wondered what’s the connection between language and context?

In other… words, words are powerful in unique ways, that go beyond the surface of things. Just look what I did at the beginning of this paragraph. Yet at the same time, language seems to rely on a wider context to operate efficiently.

Just to clarify, in this post I do not refer to linguistic but to sociocultural context. The issue is not whether the sentence “He did this to me, this way” says nothing without a context about “He”, “this”, “this way” (and even “did”).

Rather, the issue is whether words taken out of their context can have a seriously destabilizing effect. Take these sentences for example:

I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.

Fear defeats more people than any other thing in the world.

Do not compare yourself to others. If you do so you are insulting yourself.

You probably don’t see anything particularly wrong with them. Indeed, they probably come across as good advice, not unlike what you’d see as a quotation – complete, with a sunset sky or butterflies behind it.

I’ve got a little surprise for you, though…

language and context — Words are drops; the surrounding water is the context.
And it makes a hell of a difference whether you’re in your bathtub or the Pacific Ocean

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How Speaking Another Language Can Improve Your Writing

October 15, 2019

Writing

experience, experiencing, foreign, language, writing

Speaking another language has always been something I’m good at. My native language is not English; Greek isProblematically for the concept of "native language", I often feel unable to come up with a word in Greek that I know perfectly well in English—I had to look up Arrogant yesterday. Needless to say, the issue is far more pronounced with terminology. I feel entirely unable to express myself in Greek when it comes to, say, the Gothic (my academic field of expertise), or aviation (one of my interests). Put simply, I have no idea what Non-normative Uncanny Other or Compressor Stall are in Greek.. I am also fluent in Finnish and, having lived in Italy, I do understand Italian fairly well. I’m also currently learning Japanese, just for fun.

Or then again, maybe not.

Learning a new language can and should be fun, but if the expression “just for fun” implies only a casual process lacking any true significance, let me dispel that impression.

Speaking a new language, besides offering a great way to tickle your brain and expand your horizons, can be a vital tool for a writer. Writing is about experiencing the world, attempting to understand it, and offering an alternative reality; a new way of thinking. Speaking another language helps the writer by occupying each and every part of this chain.

Speaking another language can help you experience the world in ways your native language might not. This way, it can offer you additional tools for understanding your surrounding environment, at the same time providing you with inspiration to alter it.

How, you might ask. It’s a fair question. So, let’s take a closer look at the intricacies of speaking another language and, particularly, how speaking another language can help you become a better writer.

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Irony in Fiction Writing: a How-To Guide

September 15, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, fiction, irony, literature, writing

Most people understand what irony is – whether they can always recognize it when they see it, is another subject altogether. Or, actually… it isn’t. This is precisely our topic today, only from a writer’s perspective: How to successfully include irony in your fiction, in a way that you can help the audience understand it.

Having said that, there’s a limit to what an author can do to help their audience. Some people won’t get it no matter what you do. Irony, in particular, is harder to get than a simple explanation of how something works or why.

The reason, as we’ll see in more detail below, is that irony heavily relies on cultural background information. And irony in fiction is an even more complicated matter, as it might overlap with other non-literal meanings and symbolical elements.

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