The Stuff of Thought

Language and Reality

On September 11, 2001, terrorists flew a plane into one tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. A few minutes later, they flew another plane into the other tower. This sweeping tragedy changed the course of history – but was it one event or two? The question might seem odd, given the scope of the disaster, but for at least one person affected by the attack, it is a good example of the importance of the fit between language and reality. Larry Sunstein, who held the lease for both towers, had insurance against catastrophes. Specifically, he was insured for distinct events, so the question of whether 9/11 was one event or two is not academic to him. The answer is worth more than $3 billion. It exemplifies the kinds of semantic problems that humans constantly confront, issues arising from the vexed relationship between language and reality.

The relationship is challenging because no intrinsic tie exists between a word and its referent. There’s no reason to call a particular animal a “cat” in English or a “chat” in French. Yet, each word has strong historical associations for its users. What’s more, the metaphors that abound in language express...