Hi, Richard!  Awhile ago you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

RW>  You'll always hear or read us stressing the term
RW>  "alternative" because utilization of "substitute"
RW>  connotes inferiority, not quite as good as.

AH>  Makes sense to me.  I did the same without thinking
AH>  about it....  :-)

RW>  YEp, a lot of what we perceive is through the language
RW>  we use to describe it .


           Agreed.  One example I often used in my English classes is that the
Inuit... whose survival may depend far more on a precise knowledge of which is
which than either yours or mine does... have 36 different words for snow.  For
us all that really matters in the majority of cases is whether we need to take
turns shovelling the stuff, what is likely to happen when people drive or walk
on it or when it melts & refreezes, and whether we can still get around with a
car or a wheelchair.  As a native speaker of English whose ancestors (at least
as far back as I can trace) resided south of the Arctic Circle, I'm limited to
using adjectives & remembering the family who skied down our street once.  :-)

           Once I have learned the name of a person or a plant or an animal, I
begin to notice details I hadn't noticed before.  The use of words may help us
clarify our observations.  Assigning a "filename" enables me to collect what I
know about xxx somewhere in my brain where I can find it again & compare it to
similar examples.  Language is a tool which we can use to refine & clarify our
thoughts.  Language can also limit thought, however, and I think some concepts
may be better expressed in one language than in another.

          Anyway, I understand why you're careful about the vocabulary you use
with folks who are beginning to come to terms with a physical handicap of some
sort.  I could spit nails WRT those who spout whatever "political correctness"
decrees without changing their thinking one iota... or who firmly believe that
certain medical conditions are limited to senior citizens, nasty evil smokers,
etc. etc. despite evidence to the contrary.  Bottom line is, we've been there.
And those of us who have been there tend to choose our words differently.  ;-)



AH>  Our young friend & her mother were so thrilled when they
AH>  noticed their voices would sound different if they held a
AH>  cushion close to their mouths that they couldn't resist
AH>  showing us what they'd learned.  To us as musicians it may
AH>  seem obvious.  But we weren't born knowing these things...
AH>  we just paid our dues earlier.  ;-)

RW>  Indeed, musicians do have an advantage there .


          Uh-huh.  Although my learning mode is primarily visual, I'm grateful
that the study of music has taught me to use my ears more efficiently....  :-)



RW>  I've told more than one person that if the miraculous
RW>  were to occur tomorrow and I'd find myself with full
RW>  20/20 vision I probably would be so confused and
RW>  disoriented I couldn't cope for quite a time, as my
RW>  brain wouldn't know what to do with the input it was
RW>  now receiving.


          Yes, I can well imagine what might happen in some parts of Vancouver
... especially where the pavement narrows at bus stops!  Others tend to give a
person with an obvious physical handicap a wide berth.  I can't begin to count
how many times I've been thumped on a vulnerable joint by various individuals,
or by their purses & backpacks, because I look more or less able-bodied as far
as they are concerned.  Although they may have 20/20 vision they don't seem to
notice what's going on around them in many cases.  I must warn you that if the
miraculous suddenly occurred you might find yourself wishing it hadn't.  These
people evidently have difficulty sorting out what matters from what doesn't in
the big city, where the pace & quantity of visual input can be overwhelming at
times even for those who have had decades of experience with it... [wry grin].

          I'm reminded here of a fellow Dallas & I met during our CB days.  We
knew he was blind before we invited him to visit our place.  He coped so well,
however, that by the time he enquired where the bathroom was I answered as I'd
have answered a sighted person.  We both had a good laugh when I realized just
after I'd told him where to find the light switch that it was irrelevant.  :-)



RW>  Adding sensory input could potentially be as debilitating
RW>  as taking it away.


          I imagine so.  Visual input interferes with the alpha rhythms in the
brain, as I learned from reading the report on some study or other while I was
trapped in a hospital waiting room.  More about alpha rhythms on request.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)