The Power of a Word

Yesterday, I learned something about language while trying to interview a patient.  During this interview, the patient kept using the word "malaria."  I thought they were talking about the disease of malaria.  But the rest of their story didn't match up.  Finally, my good friend Dr. Gitu, was able to help me understand that the patient was using the word to describe a symptom and not a diagnosis; sort of the way patients in the US say, "I have the flu" to describe the fact that they feel very bad. 

This lesson became even more real as I was reading from my copy of Livingstone's Travels tonight. On page 177 Dr. Livingstone describes this story.

"...we met an old Bushman who at first seemed to have no conception of morality whatever; he sat by the fire relating his early adventures: among these was killing five other Bushmen.

'Two,' said he, counting on his fingers, 'were females, one a male, and the other two calves.'

'What a villain you are, to boast of killing women and children of your own nation! What will God say when you appear before him?'

'He will say,' replied he, 'that I was a very clever fellow.'

This man now appeared to me as without any conscience, and, of course responsibility; but on trying to enlighten him by further conversation, I discovered that, though he was employing the word that is used among the Bakwains when speaking of the Diety, he had only the idea of a chief, and was all the while referring to Sekomi [his chief], while his victims were a party of rebel Bushmen against whom he had been sent.  If I had known the name of God in the Bushmen tongue the mistake could scarcely have occurred."

Now, certainly, my interaction with my patient yesterday was not this grave (or this funny), but I was struck by the fact of how common it is for miscommunication to occur over the meaning of just one word.  Just one word.  Both people use the same word, but it means something totally different to each of them.  And from this difference in understanding of the word, confusion sets in.  And depending on what is at stake, this confusion can set off a tremendous flurry of events, sometimes with devastating results.

I am amazed at how often I have had conflict in my life because of a "misunderstanding".  It has happened at home and work and church.  And I am even more amazed at how gracious people have reacted to these misunderstandings. 

Hopefully, yesterday's patient interview, and tonight's reading will cause me to pursue better communication with people.  Hopefully I will be more alert to the fact that just because we are using the same words that we might not be coming to the same conclusions - that we are not communicating.  And hopefully this will help me to become a better man, a better husband, a better father, a better friend, and a better doctor.

Comments

[Rob T]

Excellent observation. I hope you are keeping these thoughts for your memoirs.

[Rob T]

Excellent observation. I hope you are keeping these thoughts for your memoirs.

[Rob T]

Excellent observation. I hope you are keeping these thoughts for your memoirs.

[Janie Lear]

and an extraordinary blogger !!

[Chewymom]

Yes! I had this experience last night at a swim team meeting, where we kept arguing over "recreational" swimming. To one mom, it meant swimming for health but not competing in meets, whereas another mom pictured playing in the pool. He we realized the different pictures these women had conjured up, we could've ended our meeting at least 30 minutes sooner!!

CM

[Bob Travis]

Hi Dr. Tim,
Also important is the tone of the word spoken....Something that is hard to convey in the written word. I encounter so much of this confusion as I read my Bible. I use the Jarusalem Bible because of its direct translation from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words spoken in the days of Our Lord's Journey. It makes a difference when trying to read between the lines for hidden meaning. When questioned why He spoke in parables, Jesus said "Those that ARE MEANT to understand, will understand". (No mention of ears.)
This tells me that there are people on earth that are corrupt, void of the Holy Spirit, and may be minions of the "Evil One". It may even mean, tho they live they may be without a soul. We may someday find such a person when some Lunatic successfully clones a human being. (Please excuse the rant.) God bless you and yours Dr. Tim,
Bob T.