What significance do the two words, here and there,
hold for someone with little or no sight? By themselves the two words here and
there mean nothing to me. Unless there is some additional information such as,
“Please put the book there on the mantle over the fireplace,” or “The object
you are looking for is here in the centre of the table by the window.” The
indication of here and there loses value. I need more information. I suppose
that is one difference between having sight and having little or no sight.
If we are sitting at the kitchen table and I am looking for
the margarine, for instance, someone who is unaware of the problem might
respond, “It’s just there.” Lyle knows better. His response might be, “It’s right
there in front of you and a little to the right of your water glass.” This
additional information is helpful especially when there are more than two of us
at the table and the table centre might be cluttered with other objects – condiments,
bread, pickles and of course the margarine itself. I might know where I have
placed everything initially when I set the table, but things do tend to get
passed around and I lose track of where the individual items are located.
Another example of the here and there conundrum often occurs
when I ask someone for directions. I might be walking along, looking for a
specific address. It is quite useless if the person I ask responds with
something like the following:
“Oh, you are quite close. It’s just down there on your
left.”
I presume that the person might be pointing in a particular
direction, but I am usually unable to see the pointed finger. Also, what does “quite
close” actually mean? Does it mean ten paces or fifty? Does it mean this block
or the next or does “quite close” mean I still have another half kilometer to
walk? The fact that I might be using my
white cane doesn’t always impinge on the other person’s understanding of my
dilemma.
Ah, the puzzles of language! It is interesting that the two
little words, here and there, can be so nebulous, and in their
use can mark the separation between someone who can see and someone who cannot.
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