Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 108
! ! 108 can accomplish great feats. The telegraph is based solely on symbols. How can a message travel from Lahore to Batala ? Ye t , the telegraph can spread news not only to Batala, but to Lon don and the rest of the world. As I indicated earlier, armies make use of this [language] through mirrors or flags. Soldiers use light to signal to their comrades the strength of their enemy or the need for food and ammunition. Thus , great feats can be accomplished with sign language. If communication was li mited to speech or writing, much of our work would come to a standstill. Thus , the study of l ingu istics is foremost and t he [following] three forms of knowledg e [related to communication] fall into distinct categories. In classif ying these science s, linguistics comes first , and the following three studies fall within its scope comprising of a vast sphere of kn owledge. There are other disciplines of l inguistics, and al though related to the languages, they are catalogued in a separate classification, hence I will denote them separate ly. 2. Eloquence : This is related to language and is more than just the expression of thought. For example , a child may mispronounce the word, ‘ bread ’ , or a non - native speaker or Englishman may ask for food in an incorrect manner, but still convey the message. L inguistics merely studies whether the thoughts have been expressed, but the study of eloquence goes beyond this to discuss three aspects of speech. There exist so many types of conversation. [T he first is] veracity of speech , in other words, is the dialogue true or false? Next is attributing the speech to an individual , and [finally], the organization of speech , which covers how one can say something in a more impactful manner. For example, a person may be call ed brave, but calling him ‘ lion heart ’ creates a greater impact , as the lion is extremely brave. Thus, e loquence includes the use of similes and metaphors in discussion. Another example is describing someone as ‘fuming wit h rage’ which is m ore effective than merely describing someone as ‘angry. ’ In this way, the addition of a different word changes the effect. The study of eloquence includes a di scussion on beautifying speech. By studying this science, one’s written and spoken communication can be improved. When a person is praised for giving a great speech or writing well, this praise is