The obvious answer is no, unless your burning a pre-1973 newspaper with lead-based ink or some other kind of glossy material that has inks made out of toxic chemicals. Words alone can not get up and hit you, and they can't have any physical effect on you. You can read words and get ideas or be influenced by the language, but words alone can't do anything.

Symbolic Virtue and Meaning

In all cases we must consider the symbolic virtue of speech. Words do not have meaning themselves, but are merely symbols based on experience. I have talked about this in great detail about the 'R.D. Laing' problem, in which meaning changes depending on the individual, as meaning comes through experience. This experience can be first hand, or examples taught by teachers or the media.

These symbols can have a physical meaning. The most obvious one is a written down, statutory law. A written law can decree a policy you "shall not exceed 15 miles per hour on this road", but it can not enforce a policy or make it valid. For a policy to be enforced, it must be backed by an executive and judicial system that makes those words have meaning. Too often people fail to see this. They think that the "15 MPH speed limit" sign makes a law so, and not the cops or the judiciary enforcing the law.

People learn that exceeding 15 MPH on that section of road leads to a fine, which creates a negative reinforcer for future speeding. We attach a meaning to that sign, namely the pain that will be inflicted upon us, should we choose to exceed that speed. So while the speed limit sign does not create or enforce a policy, it is usually obey in our dislike of pain.

Conclusions

Words can have a profound effect on our actions. They set out norms, and they can influence, persuade, and change and individual. They do not have any effect alone on paper, but the meaning we attach them can dictate our own actions. A speeding sign does not have to be taken seriously, but our failure to do so will lead to personal pain.