I noticed new Samaritans posters today at a train station:
A general stickler and former editor, I immediately caught on to the peculiar language.
To me, listening just means perceiving sound, albeit attentively. Hearing means taking it in. And, hearing = listening + understanding.
I don’t think the dictionaries (Oxford) agree with me:
hear
hɪə/
verb
perceive with the ear the sound made by (someone or something)
listen
ˈlɪs(ə)n/
verb
give one’s attention to a sound
My one argument is that the verb listen can be used in the continuous, whereas hear is more perfect:
“I hear you”
means I understand the emotion you are trying to convey – in millennial English.
“I am listening to you”
means I will take in all these sounds you make, but there is no guarantee it will make sense to me.
You may listen to Linkin Park, but then you hear the news…
I guess the reason it registered on my radar was the poor Chester Bennington. Another high profile suicide, another wave of suicides that will follow. Take care of yourself.