The Living Word and Its Death Threats

Abstract

AbstractThe expression ‘the living word’ has wide application, often in preference to an alternative use of language that is likely to threaten it. An enquiry is proposed into the potential utility of the expression for theorizing newer threats such as the use of Large Language Models. The main influence on the enquiry is the theory of dialogism, developed from work by Bakhtin and his colleagues, but other perspectives are included. The paper examines the relationships between the expression and four of its threats: technologization, monologues, static and normative approaches to meaning-making, and monolingualism. The living word appears to survive all such threats, though human thinking, communication, and meaning-making are all transformed in the process, while the perceived threat is assimilated or resisted but does not disappear. There are several contradictions in usage of the term and some resistance to the metaphor of life and death in the context of language. Faith in the living word is likely to depend on careful modulation of its meanings for a specific context through dialogue. The paper concludes that ‘the living word’ might act as a placeholder for our responses to new threats, bearing in mind that we have been continually participating in productive dialogues even when surrounded by static, monologic, and monolingual linguistic practices.