Language Does More: Keywords

Everyone agrees words matter. But do some words matter more than others?

In the 1970-80’s scholar Raymond Williams introduced the concept of keywords, or words whose meaning has become galvanized by a social cause. These words are no longer just words but are now keywords that unlock doors of meaning that supersede the intentions of individual speakers.

Along with this concept, Williams published a list of Keywords that represented the times, and since then many other scholars have published updated lists, full of the keywords of our current age.

Take, for example, a word like gay. What does gay “mean”? It’s not as simple as looking up the definition in a dictionary. Because of its social prominence, the “meaning” of gay is dynamic and changing, interlocking with other terms, and sometimes contradictory and contested. It is extremely challenging to describe the appropriate way to use the word gay in a conversation, because its meaning is unfixed and contains social implications that the speaker cannot control.

Now compare gay to the word sunflower. What does the word sunflower mean? Sunflower is easily defined by its dictionary definition. Using sunflower in a conversation is effortless and simple. The speaker - not society - imbues meaning to the word sunflower as they insert it into a sentence.

Sunflower is simply a word, while gay is a keyword.

Do keywords matter more than other words? Maybe not. But they do carry a different weight. When we think about language and communication in professional contexts, keywords are an important aspect of culture formation and fostering belonging. Keywords can be leveraged (or avoided) strategically to signal your personal values in one-on-one interactions, as well as the values of the organization as a whole.

And being ignorant of keywords can be very costly.

We can all bring to mind a time when a well-meaning coworker insisted, “But I didn’t mean it like that!” That’s the power of keywords. It doesn’t matter how YOU mean it. Society has given it meaning that goes beyond your good intentions, and every time you use a keyword, all of its historical and cultural baggage comes with it, regardless of what you meant.

Having a solid understanding about what keywords are and how they work makes a huge impact in preventing miscommunication in all contexts, especially professional ones.