sI(lent)

In class today we talked about the deconstruction of words and how specific spacing, punctuation, capitalization, etc. can elucidate different meanings and interpretations of words. I started thinking about these extra-semantic devices and how, by virtue of being extra-semantic, they cannot be verbalized--there's no way to pronounce a parenthesis in the middle of a word or a capitalization on the last letter. Even the "pronunciation" of a space is just a pause, it is the absence of sound and words that give the space its meaning--sound familiar? When I realized this I thought immediately of Friday: just like the mute Friday, the spaces, punctuation, and all the things that are used to deconstruct words are effectually silent.

So when you look at a phrase like "media(TED) artiFACT," you derive meaning from the silent mechanisms that drive you to different word associations and interpretations. And because these silent mechanisms can come together in so many distinct combinations ("MEdiated (art)Ifact," "(medi)ATEd art(if)ACT," etc.), then there are near limitless interpretations of a simple two-word phrase.

This same idea of silence attributing meaning can be found even in an average sentence--as you read this post, the words make sense because there are spaces and punctuation that guide you to recognize words, establish a rhythm, and find where a thought begins and ends. Although you don't say these things aloud when you read the sentence, spaces, punctuation, and capitalization all play an important part in imbuing the sentence with meaning. ifasentencelookedlikethisthenderivingmeaningfromitwouldbemuchharder, right? Avoiding that kind of near-nonsensical writing is why spaces and punctuation can be found in almost every literary work--in a very literal sense, these silent devices actually do connect all stories and it is their very silence that makes the meaning of a text accessible.