Ask HN: Why aren't there more missing words? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Why aren't there more missing words?

1 pointzaroth5 comments

I've always found it odd that there aren't more times I am literally lacking for words. How is it possible that words are so expressive of thought? It is so much so that it must be thought is an expression of words. But that is not commonly taught? Or is it wrong?

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Wow, I'm surprised to hear you feel that way. I usually feel as if language, even when used very thoughtfully, is able to provide only the barest sketch of a lot of thoughts. I especially find it frustrating when talking about feelings, or music, or drug experiences. I usually end up saying things in a plain way, and color it with tone of voice.

I'm as sure as I can be that I don't think in words at all. Stuff happens down in the engine room, and I get feelings, and then they get translated into language.

Even when we're convinced that another person really means what they're saying, the thought isn't really transmitted, only the intention to transmit it. Parents tell their children so many things, their hearts breaking, practically begging their children to really understand what they're saying, and it rarely if ever really gets through. We just keep making the same mistakes because we're not able to transmit the feeling you get from bitter experience. I think everything would be totally different if we could.

It's not that there are words missing, it's that you are lacking in imagination: you only allow yourself to think in concepts that you have words for.

E.g., in Indonesian there are two forms of “we”: “kita”, that includes the person being spoken to, and “kami”, that excludes the person being spoken to. In my native language, Danish, there is only one form (“vi”) but I have never felt that I need more words to express “we”. Yet, when I see the Indonesian feature it seems immediately useful and I start wondering why that possibility of expression has never evolved in the Danish (or English) language.

You would probably want to read up on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis — e.g., http://linguistlist.org/ask-ling/sapir.cfm

Thanks for the link. I had similar thoughts but was struggling to find a way to express them. "The only thoughts we're capable of are bound by the restraints of language", or something similar. It's a nice hypothesis. I think the same words can sometimes mean different things to different people, even where the context is fixed. I've often wondered whether we all see colors in the same way.

I would say it's because the same words are the basis for most of your thoughts. It's not just that we think something and then find words to express it. The two processes are more linked; the vocabulary we have influence our ideas. Once you rely enough on language, it's a huge part of the way you organize and apprehend the world. This is why it's so important to develop our vocabulary. In a way, the more words you know, the more thoughts you can have.

Update: I just read it seems to be called "Sapir–Whorf hypothesis", more on there here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity

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