Byron's Babbles

I say this a lot and really do believe it, that language matters – it matters a lot. I was reminded of this twice this week. The first was at a gathering I was leading made up of school leadership and the second time was in the incredible book The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry. At the gathering we were discussing work-based learning programs for high school students and one of the school’s pointed to one reason for their success was the that everyone was speaking the same language when when it came to work-based learning. In other words every person in the school knew what the vision was for work-based learning from the student to the parents to the counselors to the teachers to the work-based learning coordinator to the employers to the administrators – well, you get the picture.

This shared shared language (understanding, agreement, or alignment) on the particular topic of work-based learning implied that all the individuals and stakeholder groups are working together toward a common goal and have a coherent and unified approach. This is leading to successful implementation. What that school values can be seen by all involved understanding and communicating a common vision and how carrying out that work, in this case work-based learning, is to be performed.

As I stated earlier, the second reminder that language matters was in The Story She Left Behind. Charlie Jameson and Clara were having a conversation about their parents and said:

“‘He’d [Charlie’s father] tell us that every culture infuses its language with a sense of who they are as a people, as a person, as a community. It shows us what they value, what they love, what they think about, how they label the world.’ ‘Then for my [Clara] mother to make up her own words, she felt that none of the other languages could define her life for her. If it’s true that we make a language from what we are made of, then I can say this—Mother was made of deep emotions, of land and of nature.’”

Charlie was emphasizing that language is more than just a system of words; it reflects the identity, values, and worldview of a culture. When he says that each culture infuses its language with a sense of who they are, he’s pointing out that the way communities speak reveals their beliefs, priorities, and collective experiences. Language encodes what they cherish, how they interpret their surroundings, and what they consider important. In essence, it’s a mirror of their cultural soul, showing us their unique perspective on the world and themselves. Think about your organization as a community. What identity and values is your common language conveying?

Clara’s response to Charlie suggested that our personal identities and experiences shape the way we communicate and understand the world. It implied that our inherent qualities, backgrounds, and histories influence the expressions, words, and meanings we develop—essentially, that who we are internally informs how we find ways to connect and convey our thoughts externally. This highlights the deep connection between our inner selves and the ways we express ourselves to others.