Graphic Intervention

Derrida plays with language in his text Différance. When we communicate, it is often that we come across words that sound the same, though may have different meanings. I had trouble following Derrida and his theory, however, his concept of "graphic intervention" caught my attention.
Derrida puts his theory into play by using the example of "difference" and "differance". Derrida speaks about the alphabet and how each letter governs the proper rules and tools for spelling. However, this is amusing to Derrida, for he is able to simply manipulate the spelling of a word, and even though they are analytically different they still remain the same (Derrida, 280). We see this come to light as he changes the "e" to an "a" in "difference". It is this difference/switch in letters that marks the "graphic intervention". The differing letters are only noticed when one physically writes or reads them, but it cannot be heard (Derrida, 280). In Différance, this graphic intervention paves the way for Derrida to explain his play with language, "the graphic difference between e and a can function only within the system of phonetic writing and within a language or grammar historically tied to phonetic writing..." (281). The difference between two phonemes is inaudible (Derrida, 281), an that difference is what marks their existence. If language was solely audible, then there would be no means to mark the difference between words/language (in this case, phonemes). It is the space between speech and writing (Derrida, 281) where we are able to decipher the "differance" (with an a). I suppose Derrida is trying to point out how language is imperfect and communication can become flawed because we cannot solely trust the meaning of a word based on it being spoken.

There needs to be context around these words in order to convey the intended meaning. If one were to say, "Have you seen the hair?" and "Have you seen the hare?" it would be difficult to understand the difference between the two words without being able to actually see the spelling, or without distinction from the speaker. This concept can relate back to Locke in Book III of An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and his theory on "sign" and "signification". Though signs may lead to ideas, and we use words to signify those ideas, it does not mean that one word carries a universal meaning. An individual can only convey words that signify an internal concept of his/her own ideas; as we saw in studying Locke, this can create faults in language. The same idea is here in Derrida's Différance, the meaning of words are never present but remain active because they are ever changing.