Words are language notes

In music a C note has a certain sound that is defined by convention. To participate in music, you have to learn the C sound: that is, you have to harmonize with all the other C’s. So you begin to think in this way. Over time, you forget that the sound the C represents might have initially been different to you. The same process is in place for word-learning. We make the words with our own meanings, and then standardize them with everyone else’s.