The Role of Language

The Role of Language

Tia Stajkowski

Something we talked about in class that I found to be interesting was the idea that language creates the world around us. This is something that, since I started my college career, I have questioned a lot and have developed strong feelings against when it comes to certain situations. This isn't to say that I was upset when the topic came up; I love having conversations about it and hearing new viewpoints about the same issue, I have just happened to form my own thoughts! I think the reason why I have this opposition towards this idea stems from my musical background. I started playing cello and regularly listening to classical music when I was 11 years old, and the major difference between classical and pop/modern music is that classical music has no words (I enjoy opera as well, but for the sake of this assignment, let's exclude it). One thing that I noticed when I started to listen to and appreciate classical music a little more was that I felt unsatisfied when I tried to pinpoint what I was experiencing. I would listen to Shostakovich and say to myself, "this is anguish," or I would listen to Tchaikovsky and feel "love", but I was still discontented with the rigidity of these words. As it turns out, this is a common feeling among many musicians. Many agree that you cannot accurately describe the emotional sensation of music with words, and I wonder if this goes for all wordless art forms. Do art scholars feel the same dissatisfaction when looking at a work by Monet? Does a ballerina feel that tiniest bit of frustration when they watch the 32 consecutive fouettes from Swan Lake? Words such as "inspiring" and "stunning" feel like understatements, but then what is the word I am looking for? I eventually realized that there doesn't have to be a word for an experience I am simply there to enjoy for myself. I want to make it clear that I do acknowledge the importance and necessity for language; I would argue that it is one of the most incredible phenomena that has arisen from the human consciousness, but I thought it would be thoughtful to note that there are cases that words cannot do justice.