The Power of Words

The virtual world hails its name for the main reason that there is no need for two to see each other face-to-face or hear each other's voice like over the telephone. When chatting on mIRC became rampant, many schools demanded the students to write essays on how this could cause some detrimental effects on the new generation who were over-reliant on these tools. Not touching on virtual identities, the second most widely discussed effect was how words in the virtual world could cause misconstrued intentions or some breakdown in communication, such power of words.

In any case, I admit on having a larger exposure to the virtual world compared to some of my peers. Its harder to avoid such things if one is addicted to Facebook, has an auto-log-in to Windows Messenger and writes her opinion on a blog. While so, there have been a few instances where I encountered certain experiences that have since left me thinking, "Huh?"

I have an obnoxious reputation to do self-appraisal and sarcastic humour, but only reserving that to people whom I generally know well enough to take a few punches of that. No, in case you're wondering, my level of bitchiness has not gone overboard others' I know of, but that's besides the point here.

What kept me thinking, was how some people, who could claim to talk with such "humour", could take certain topics into an entirely different outlook. And what I've analysed is that syntax plays a whole load of difference when it comes to getting intentions or meanings across.

For example, we come across situations when some guy boasts that he could clear the pool table in less than a minute.

For someone who knows that he was just plain bullshitting, there are 2 possible approaches to that:

1) Please lah!! I know you better. So full of crap.

2) So, are you implying that you are good then?

Notice the different syntax in both sentences. The Singlish lah actually softens the first approach, whilst the incomplete sentences sends a message of a joking comment. Now, looking at the second approach, the complete (and correct) structure actually indicates rudeness or an emotion of dislike for the intended person, even if it is not intended that way. No doubt, everything is grammatically correct, but that's what I mainly reserve for my topics in my blog (with exceptions of correcting my friends' grammar while talking, plus making my own mistakes too, hey, I'm not perfect). Topics that I write as articles. Understandable, isn't it?

You could argue, maybe it is just me being sensitive to some people's so-called satire. But then again, was there such a need to use such language in a very public and non-threatening environment? Unless they bear a grudge against me, that is.

In these few instances, I cannot conclude everything to be true. Everyone has the right to say anything in the virtual reality. But many a time, there are more common situations where things are misinterpreted as easily as over the SMS, another virtual domain. You know, couple fights over unknown emotions that was meant to be sent across in those messages but was not perceived as so to the other party, I mean, how many times could those things happen to any of us?

I could only conclude that syntax and usage of words could either add to or weaken the power that words have. To add to the power of words in this context is to add to the sarcasm level such that there is a blurred line between enjoying humour or plainly being rude, whilst to weaken the power of words is to soften the meaning in the name of fun. By all means, choose either if that is your intentions, though bearing in mind, there is always a fine line that separates satire and rudeness.

Ps: The above example of guy who boasts about playing pool is purely fictional whereas the personal experience is true.