the spoken word would be perceived differently by a deaf person who feels the words rather than hears them
... which begs the question, Shellb. Are the "signs" used by the deaf in sign language "symbols" or "words"? Or are they "word symbols"?
And where does one draw the line between a word and a symbol, such as an ideogram?
And does all of this amount to a distinction without a difference when we are discussing words composed of letters which have overt meaning to a group, however small, absent the unnecessary complication of comparing "words" with "symbols"?
Is anyone likely to suggest that a word is only a 'pre-word' until it is recognized by some authoritative dictionary, and, then, what is its status if it is only recognized by one authortative dictionary, or by several but not all?
A car cannot become a "classic" car until it is 25 years old, but is it any less a car because it is not old enuf to be a classic car?
