Understanding, Even though It's Wrong, Makes It Write.

I was in the office earlier this year, at the Ithaca Times, and overheard the newspaper’s Arts and Entertainment Editor, Natasha Pickowicz, correct an intern when he responded to her polite, passer-by inquisition of “How are you,” with an I’m-excited-to-be-here response, saying “Good.” She replied, “Good is a question of morality.” As to say, a respondent has to have helped a nun cross the street, before entering the office, to use that answer. I thought about this brief conversation on and off for a few weeks after. More importantly, I considered, over and over again, what’s the importance of such word-choices in daily conversations. Did the young intern receive his overt-correction justly? Or, was he unknowingly correct.

A common understanding...must be met

The answer is embedded in a core communication concept, shown in the Shannon-Schramm Communication model. I selected this model because of its inclusion of the “Fields of Experience” sections. These fields include languages, age groups, races, culture, etc. Furthermore, these and other factors contribute to the way people interpret the, ostensibly powerful, spoken word. The point is that people’s backgrounds determine how a word is understood.

Now, the purpose of communication is either to inform or persuade. To accomplish these goals, a common understanding of what is being said must be met. Right?

Well, since we can understand others based on similar backgrounds, there is no reason to worry about proper word choice, as long as both parties correctly understand the message.

Others might argue, “oh, but, we need to have common understanding of a word to communicate properly.” I say, take a close look at the Idiom. It’s meaning is determined by background similarities between the communication’s participants.

In retrospective, the young intern was deserving of a different response from his talented criticizer. Because he, although not aware, was correct. Furthermore, Pickowicz must have know what the boy wanted to say in order to correct him so quickly. Thus, the purpose of the communication was fulfilled.