The Problem
Language is often imagined as a conduit of inherent meaning, a medium through which significance is faithfully transmitted. Words, texts, and symbols are treated as repositories of truths that humans uncover, rather than co-create.
The Distortion
This mirrors theological covenant: language becomes a sacred contract between speaker and universe, or human and cosmos. Meaning is cast as granted, promised, or revealed, echoing divine communication. Even in secular contexts, the belief persists that proper articulation connects us to pre-existing significance.
The Relational Alternative
From a relational standpoint, language generates meaning through use and interpretation. Words are not vessels of eternal truths; they are instruments of relational alignment. Significance emerges as speakers and listeners, writers and readers, negotiate patterns of potential and actual. Meaning is enacted, not received.
Takeaway
Language as covenant is theology in disguise. Relational ontology reframes speech as active participation in constructing significance, dissolving the illusion that words alone can confer or guarantee meaning.
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