Language Is Complex

 

This week there has been an interesting conversation going on one of the Instagram accounts I follow. The particular conversation is not important but it is a conversation about words, identities, and the difference between what words mean and how they are commonly used. 

For the purposes of this post I will expand on the tomato metaphor though of course on Instagram it was not about tomatoes.

Someone posted a quote "Fruit and Tomatoes" from some unknown source and said you mean "Fruit and Fruit" Fruit includes tomatoes and always has. 

There are a wide range of responses from statements that go "Tomatoes are not fruit" to people going but what about "sundried tomatoes" or "tomato sauce" or "are you saying that other things like olives, eggplant, pumpkin etc. are also fruit? to statements that go "when I am holding a tomato it feels like it is different from when I am holding a fruit" 

There are also responses that go "When listing what ingredients I need for a recipe saying I need fruit when I need a tomato will not get me what I need for the recipe." 

And others have mentioned "well in my context the only way to get tomatoes is to go to a vegetable store, because we don't have any fruit stores, and the rare fruit stores we do have do not have tomatoes" 

All which highlights the complexity of language. 

Sometimes being part of a large group is vital, if we are fighting for fruit rights, tomatoes should be included both in those who are fighting as well in the demands that the fruit group is fighting for.  

Sometimes being really specific is vital, "I need a jar of imported from Sicily sundried tomatoes in olive oil, rosemary, and garlic for this recipe"

Finally sometimes the best we can do is use a term that is false but explains our needs the best. "I am making a veggie tray and need assorted vegetables including tomatoes" or "Tonight for dinner I both need several types of fruit And tomatoes"

So all in all this week has been a week where I keep thinking about language, the language we use to describe ourselves, the language others use to describe us, how both types of language are always in flux, and how often language is used in such a general manner that it even gets more confusing. All the different interpretations of the metaphoric statement "Fruit and Tomatoes" has been giving me a lot to think about.