"Six Lectures on Loneliness" - Loneliness in Language

Formal external supremacy leads to putting the cart before the horse in language

Anyone who has participated in a thesis oral examination will know that the oral examination committee members are often concerned about the index and reference materials of the paper. Rather than the idea in the paper that you are most proud of. This is another kind of absurdity. Everything is very external, including language, and becomes an external pattern symbol, and its inner essence is completely forgotten.

The beauty and accuracy of language are inherently contradictory

Human language can have two extreme developments, one is to develop into "poetry", the other is to develop into law Articles. Legal provisions must be precise and precise, with clear terms and conditions to eliminate any ambiguity. So now the common language for international law, conventions, etc. is French, because French is the most stringent language in the world in terms of definitions of categories. The Chinese language is the least accurate and the most vague, but it is very beautiful. Beauty is often inaccurate, and accuracy is often not beautiful. Therefore, no one will say that "The Complete Book of Six Methods" is beautiful, but many people agree with "The Book of Songs" 》It’s beautiful.

Example: Song Jiang uses language to defeat loneliness

Song Jiang asked again: "Sister, what do you do during the day?"

Yan Xijiao replied: "What do I do? I took a garlic clove in my left hand and a glass of cold water in my right hand. I took a bite of the garlic clove and drank a sip of cold water. I took a bite of the garlic clove and drank a sip of cold water. I walked from east to west, from west to east..."

This novel uses language so cleverly. Think about it, how many words like this do we use with our family and friends? Sometimes you don't actually want to ask something, but just want to break a sense of loneliness or indifference, so you will keep talking in words.

The beginning of communication

Language is a two-sided sword. There is a paradox: on the one hand, it conveys, and on the other hand, it creates obstacles to communication. Therefore, the best literature is to create linguistic ambiguity within the precision of language.

This kind of ambiguity is like going to the temple and drawing a lot when you are feeling confused. You really hope that the lot will tell you whether you should continue to date or invest, but the lot will never tell you. Will tell you should, shouldn't, yes or won't, but give you an ambiguous answer.

What I want to say is a kind of loneliness in language. When language cannot communicate, language begins to have the possibility of communication. When language is incommunicable, that is, when language no longer appears in a habitual mode, no longer like a machine gun or fried beans, but a voice carrying different contents and different thoughts, it is The nature of language.

"Reflections after Reading"

Chapter 2: Loneliness in Language, based on the loneliness of lust in Chapter 1, interprets language from the perspective of loneliness.

Language is a tool for communication, but in the process of using it, we rely too much on the preset definition of language. The origin of many conflicts is "I think the other party can understand me."

The reason why we think this way is because most of the people we communicate with grew up in the same language environment system, and we naturally feel that the other party "can understand and understand". The book gives an example of communication between an old lady in Ningbo and an old lady in France. It shows readers such a low-probability scenario and removes the mental premise of "can you understand me"? Communication can still proceed.

The author realized from this that different language was the beginning of misunderstanding. We will quarrel with others and feel that the other party cannot understand our thoughts, all because we have the same language.

Why does the language we use to communicate lead us to misunderstandings? Because in life we ??often focus on formal correctness but ignore the essence of language.

During the university graduation defense, no matter how good the quality of your graduation project is, the tutors will often put your paper into cumbersome regulations such as word spacing, page headers, and whether the format complies with the requirements of the previous year. The results have been sent back several times, and by the time you submit a beautifully formatted report to your instructor, you must have forgotten the original intention of your graduation project. Standing on the defense platform, my mind was filled with the school name annotations in the headers and footers.

Excessive focus on form is destined to put the cart before the horse.

Because the charm of language lies in its ambiguity. If there is too much emphasis on standardization and formalization, then our daily communication will be like a lawsuit in a court. Every word we say must be watertight. The thought of extremely rigorous communication will kill you.

Why do people like divination and testing? Because the answer is always a sentence that seems good or bad and can be interpreted by the person seeking the signature. The ambiguous and vague language gives them the greatest freedom of interpretation, and it can't be better if it is used as a psychological suggestion for themselves.

It is precisely in the precision of language that literary works create ambiguity in language, so a good work can be evaluated by thousands of people. When the same sentence is spoken by the author, thousands of readers can interpret it according to their own understanding. Confirm. Instead of simply shouting slogans, writing slogans, and making meaningless and mindless chants. At any time, you must be alert. If there is only one sound in your ear, it is very dangerous.

The conversation between Song Jiang and his wife is a typical example of "using language" rather than "understanding language". Speaking for the sake of speaking, language has lost its inherent function and has become a special medicine to relieve embarrassment. In our daily life, there are many such usage scenarios.

Think about it, are you like Song Jiang, staring at your wife holding a "water cup" and asking: "What are you holding?"

Consulting knowingly is not communication, but using words to cover up psychological discomfort.

In many cases we just use language instead of understanding language. This incorrect usage also makes language increasingly unable to perform its intended function.

The author’s conclusion is quite reminiscent of Zhang Wuji’s practice of Tai Chi. It is believed that when language is no longer communicative, language begins to have the possibility of communication. Perhaps as the saying goes, the beginning of language communication lies in not appearing in a habitual mode. When we turn our attention from "what the person said" to "what the person wanted to express", when One sentence can carry different contents and thoughts, which can break through the constraints of expression and relieve the loneliness of language.

People always say that it is hard to find a true friend. There are not many listeners in this world. How many people can understand you? To find a close friend, you must first be able to understand what the other person is saying. In this inherently contradictory pursuit, you gain much more than you see.

This is probably the preciousness of language solitude.