b'language mattersWe keep you smiling! Houses Becoming Homes and Everyeffortismadeto Homeless Becoming Unhousedensure the utmost comfort for each patient. BY KRISTEN DI GENNAROEnjoy a modern profession- R eaderswho(until we modify it with al environment and a caring staff. grewupinlight or dark). Does As a former faculty memberthe1980sthis mean that we dont of Fairleigh Dickinson Den- might be fa- see a difference between tal School, Dr. Wisz now de- miliarwithlight blue and dark blue? votes all her time to privatetheclassicR&BsongNo, but it does suggest practice. AHouseisnotaHome,that we dont see a strong made famous by the lateenough difference to cre-singer Luther Vandross. The song wasate separate concepts. (Interior design-Wendy Wisz, DMD initially recorded almost two decadesers, fashionistas and others who work earlierbyEastOrangenativeandwithcolors,ofcourse,havemany Grammyaward-winningsingerDi- words to describe the blue family.) General, Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry onne Warwick, who is a South OrangeConnectionsbetweenlanguage resident. As the songs title illustrates,and thought might seem trivial, but the words house and home, thoughefforts to control, or at least modify, oftenusedinterchangeably,arenotourthoughtsthroughlanguagesur-250 Millburn Avenue | Millburn completely synonymous, as we aim toround us. Have you noticed the shift turn this house into a home.fromusedcartopre-ownedve-973-467-0077 Speakers and learners of languageshicle?Whenmydaughterwasin Saturdays and Evenings Available besidesEnglishnotethatsomelan- elementaryschool,thegymteach-On site parking | Convenient location guages(suchasItalian,Russianander corrected meshe was the P.E. Urdu) use one word for both concepts,teacher. Years ago when we lived in generally translated simply as houseEnglandforayear,thepersonwho in English. Does that mean that speak- installed my cable TV was a cable en-Highlight your business in theersofhomelesslanguageslackthegineer. Such examples, illustrating at-emotionalconnotationsweattachtotempts to rebrand items or professions Matters Magazinethewordhome?Accordingtothein more positive terms, appear inno-theoryoflinguisticdeterminism,yes:centenough.Butwhataboutwhen Business Spotlight if a language lacks a word for a certainlayoffsarelabeledheadcountre-concept,thenthatconceptremainsduction. Or, as Tracy Chapman sings, outside the realm of thought. Propo- why are the missiles called Peacekeep-nents of this theory argue that languageers when theyre aimed to kill? And, does not just reflect what were thinkingof course, we have alternative facts. but shapes our thoughts and the wordsThese are all examples of attempts available to us guide or even restrict ourto control our thoughts through word thoughts. A common counterexamplechoices,whichbringsusbackto to linguistic determinism is to note thathouseandhome. Youmayhave English lacks a word for the conceptnoticed a shift in terms from home-pleasure derived from another personsless to unhoused or person expe-misfortune, or what the Germans callriencing homelessness. Such phrases Schadenfreude, yet Im sure many of usareattemptstoshiftourattention Reserve by April 17. are familiar with that feeling. from a very unfortunate personal situ-Please contact your sales representativeFew (if any) linguists today adhereation to a lack of housing or an indi-or visit mattersmagazine.com. to the theory of linguistic determin- vidualstemporarystatus.Whatdo ism. Instead, many adopt the notionyou think? More importantly, do you of linguistic relativity. In this weakerthink people without a house or home Issue in homes May 1 version, our language influences howcare about word choice? weperceivetheworldbutdoesnotPlease share your thoughts on these prohibit us from thinking outside ourand other language matters with your mattersmagazine.com language boxes. As another example,local linguist at languagematters@mat-many languages (such as Italian, Rus- tersmagazine.com. 973.763.4900 sianandGreek)havetwoseparateKristen di Gennaro is an associate pro-words distinguishing light blue fromfessorofEnglishatPaceUniversity, darkblue,butEnglishjusthasonewhere she teaches courses in linguistics. 36/ matters magazine / hearth + home 2026'