Those same relationships often influence how we do or do not express our thoughts. Language itself, and the way it is either delivered or received, is very important to the expression of our thoughts, both one's use (and the other person's use) of language, and the context of the language either spoken or received.
On the other hand, everyone has had a circumstance where some thought, feeling, perception, or experience could not quite "be put into words." Arguably, also, language goes beyond words, such as the "language" of music or art. Still, it is through either spoken or written language that we most easily, and most commonly, express our thoughts, and in ways best understood by others.
However, since language is never independent of either a social context or relationship of power, the expression of our thoughts through language can never be just literal, uninflected expression. Instead, its meaning is always "loaded," sometimes more so, sometimes less so. Take, for example, the following exchange:
Speaker 1: Our environment is getting better.
Speaker 2: Right.
The true meaning of this exchange (and there could be many) depends on the context in which it was spoken (or perhaps overheard, or written, as an e-mail exchange) and the relationship of more or less power (or equality) between speakers.
For example, between friends, the above exchange could signal either agreement (i.e., yes, the environment certainly is getting better) or sarcastic disagreement (especially, nowadays, if the word "yeah" had preceded the word "right"). However, in another context, the meaning of the exchange would be different, and maybe even forced: say between an environmental engineer and his work subordinate.
In such a case, if the engineer said "our environment is getting better" to his subordinate, there would likely be an inflected expectation...
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