Evolution of symbols (part I)

My "The days 101" entry dovetails nicely with today’s discussion topic: how symbols evolve. I used the days of the week to point out the fact that though these names are used in everyday conversation most people don’t know their meaning. This shows us how, over time, a symbol can lose its meaning or evolve to take on new meaning. There are a few reasons for this phenomenon.

Symbols losing meaning

First off, systems are created in order to simplify processes; therefore we need not memorize the process in order to use the system itself. For example, we all know how to work a television without knowing how a television works. Symbols are a system of communication. The days symbolize divisions of the week and, at one time, represented the names of gods. We now use them for their functional purpose with no thought to the reason these names were chosen.

A second way symbols lose meaning is by superseding their root meanings. This is often seen with mnemonic devices and acronyms. For instance, most people can tell you what a scuba tank is or what a laser is and yet be unaware that these words are actually acronyms. Scuba means self-contained underwater breathing apparatus. Laser means light amplification stimulated by emission of radiation. The reason for this is obvious: mnemonics are intended to be more memorable than the thing for which they stand; acronyms are intended to be less awkward. They both succeed.

Symbols evolving

Language is a great example for the evolution of symbols. Language is constantly evolving, churning and redefining itself. In the process, words can become quite dissimilar from their original meanings. This is a fascinating process, and is recorded by word etymologies.

In spoken language, remember, words symbolize concrete objects or abstract ideas. Therefore, in equation form, it would look like this:

A (object/idea) = B (vocalized sound) = C (interpreted concept)

...where any part of that equation can adapt and evolve.

One example of an ‘A-type’ language evolution is technological invention. For instance the automobile (an object) was invented before there was a name (vocalized sound) for it, and necessitated the coining of a new word. The word automobile is a Greek and Latin hybrid.

A ‘B-type’ evolution occurs when an object/idea is given a new name. For instance, the English words mirage and dine were adopted into the English language after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror crossed the Channel and brought civilization to the British. We can’t assume that the Anglo-Saxons had no word for light refractions and evening meals before the Conquest...just that the name (symbol) for these things changed.

The last type of changes, ‘C-type,’ occurs the most frequently. Definitions of words change all the time both on macrolingual and microlingual scales: For instance, the word gay has a very different meaning than it had a century ago.

The most apparent example of symbols changing, of course, is found in religion. If one researches the Christian holidays Easter and Christmas, they would be surprised to find that both holidays are actually modifications of older, pagan holidays celebrating fertility and rebirth (In fact, the word Easter comes from Eostre, the Saxon goddess of the dawn). What’s fascinating about these Christian holidays is not just that they occurred at the same time period (the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox) but that they even adopted the very traditions of the pagans and reinterpreted them to give them a Christian slant -- such as laying pine boughs on the hearth, burning a Yule log, caroling, looking for Easter eggs, etc.

In anthropological terms, this is called a palimpsest. The term means 'to scrape again' and refers to how, on parchment or manuscripts, scribes would often scrape a manuscript clean and then write over the top but the underlying writing can still be discerned. In the case of religions, Christianity's adaptation of Judaism is a clear example of this; as is the Protestants' adaptation of Catholicism. In both cases, symbols carried within a religion were adopted by another religion (or sect of that religion) and given new meaning.