
Ever looked at a word and said it one too many times till it shed its meaning and became just a sound? What does it make you feel? That sound?
The sound of the word is a realm of its own. Anyone who delves into more than one language or seeks comfort in wordless songs can attest it.
Language is constrained with its function of communication. Words roll off our tongues and we assume that they are being communicated, almost as if in print. Thankfully they have sound to assist what is actually being said. Sounds of a familiar language are vibrations of familiarity, sounds of a familiar accent are too. They can make us feel home or they can create discord. Sound is primal in comparison to spoken language, it is the fabric on which language sits and often slides around. While our conscious deifies language our sub-conscious often defies it. Language makes you think, sound makes you feel and you always feel faster than you can think.
The languages we use carve us with the vibrations of their sounds.
Vibration is a kind of sense like touching from a distance - Dr.John Levack Drever
Our ear drums are being touched by sound every living moment. Words that caress, words that explode and everything in between with their various intonations, colors and flavors. Songs, music, words and sounds that have departed the narrow grip of meaning can enter a space deep inside us and shine a light on the primal areas of our being. They can salve the sub-conscious to which our ordered structures of meaning cannot reach.
A video essay on Sigur Ros using their famed Hopelandic and what they are trying to do with the sound of words.
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