The importance of four-letter words is also illustrated by words like pain, rain, food, love, hate, walk and talk . Many of us have witnessed the contraction of words during our lifetimes. For example, advertisement has become ad, telephone is now phone and the abbreviation of television to TV proclaims its central place in our lives. AIDS is a four-letter word that has burst on the scene with a heavy emotional impact. We have also seen words change their meanings, sometimes dramatically, such as gay.
Words can show our biases, sexism for instance.
He is shorter than she, man than woman and son than daughter . But wife is not as long as husband and this suggests that in the institution of marriage, at least, she has a more socially prominent role than he has. If we look at the words we use and how we use them, we find more than dictionary meanings. We gain insights into our values and prejudices, into how we think and who we are, into where we have been and where we re going. And the writer, by the words he chooses and in his manner of writing, reveals himself.