Semantic Babel
From Babel to Coherence

Who are you trying to understand better?

Use this private assessment with a parent, adult child, spouse, sibling, friend, colleague, or anyone else where disagreement may be turning into misunderstanding. Or start with yourself, and build a Semantic Dictionary that helps others understand you.

🔒 No account. No server. Your assessments stay in this browser on this device.
Shared with you

Someone shared their Semantic Dictionary so you can understand them better. It is shown here only. Nothing is saved unless you choose to keep it.

Start here

Choose your path

For keynote audiences, the Quick Assessment takes about 4 to 6 minutes. Questions adjust to the type of relationship you choose.

Safety note: This tool is for communication reflection, not therapy or clinical assessment. It is not intended to pressure anyone to remain in a relationship involving credible threats, violence, coercion, stalking, or serious abuse.
Your device

Previous Assessments

Saved results stay on this device until browser storage is cleared. Export a backup to move them to another device.

People I Know

Semantic Dictionaries others have shared with you. Use Import File for a profile someone emailed you.

Step 1Not saved yet
Relationship

Choose one person.

Use a first name, nickname, initials, or a role such as “Dad” or “Coworker.” On a shared device, avoid entering information you would not want another user of the device to see.

Some questions and the analysis change based on this choice.
Semantic Minefield Assessment

Start with yourself.

Every hard conversation has two minefields, and the only one you can map directly is your own. You will discover your triggers and load-bearing words, define them in your own Semantic Dictionary, and plan how to stay in the conversation when a word lands hard. At the end, you choose exactly what to share. Allow about 15 to 20 minutes.

This is a reflection tool, not a clinical assessment. If losing control has led to threats, violence, or fear that you might hurt yourself or someone else, please talk with a licensed professional or a local crisis line.
Diagnostic

Rate your experience honestly.

Your results

Your Semantic Babel pattern

Find the word under the argument

What word is carrying the weight?

The visible disagreement is often only the surface. Underneath it may be a disagreement about what one important word means.

Common words
Tap one or enter your own below.
Have you actually asked them? If not, treat this as a hypothesis, not a fact.
The argument under the argument

What kind of disagreement is this?

Not every disagreement is semantic. Identifying the correct layer changes what kind of conversation you need to have.

Semantic Reconciliation

Create enough shared meaning to continue.

You do not need to agree about every implication of the word. You need enough shared meaning to know what each person is actually saying.

Representation before rebuttal: Before you argue against their position, explain it back to them until they can say, “Yes. That is what I mean.” Only then has the debate earned the right to begin.
Semantic Coherence

Your assessment is ready.

Save it locally, download a copy, or return later and repeat the process with someone else.

Your triggers

Which words land like a landmine?

Choose the words that reliably change how you feel when someone uses them about you, or even near you. Then rate how hard each one lands.

Common trigger words
Your load-bearing words

Which words carry the most weight for you?

Load-bearing words are the ones you rely on and mean very precisely. Conflict often hides inside them, because other people use the same word to mean something else.

Common load-bearing words
Your Semantic Dictionary

Define your words the way you actually use them.

Keep it to 7 words or fewer so the people who read it can remember it. Fill in what you can; any blank field is simply left out. Fields marked private are never shared.

Mitigations

Plan what happens when a word lands hard.

The first part tells others what helps. The second part is what you commit to doing yourself. Sharing both keeps your dictionary from reading like a list of demands.

What helps me

Shareable.

What others might notice when a word lands hard

What I’m working on

Your pattern, pause plan, and repair sentence can be shared. Your warning signs stay private.

My earliest warning signs Private
Sharing

Choose what to share.

Anything you share can be forwarded and cannot be taken back. Share definitions and requests, not anything you would regret being passed along.

Semantic Minefield

Your Semantic Dictionary is ready.

Share it with the people you talk with most. Save it here so you can update it as your meanings change.