Meaning and the World: Flashcards
Early approaches to meaning: Realists
Realists believed that all words in a particular category share essential chaRacteRistics
R = share Real qualities
Early approaches to meaning: Nominalists
Nominalists believed that the only thing shared by a particular category is their Name.
N = only share name
The semiotic triangle is made up of:
The sign = the word
The form (signifier) = spoken or written/sound or image
The concept (signified) = the mental abstraction which the form articulates
The referent = - the thing to which the word refers
Between which side is there an indirect relationship?
Between the form/signifier and the referent (they are only connected by the concept)
Word = ?
Word = form + concept
What is usually arbitrary?
The relationship between form and concept is usually arbitrary.
For example, many different forms (often due to different languages) express the same concept eg. apple > pomme > mela (Italian)
In what cases is the arbitrariness between form and concept challenged? Where there is arguably a relationship between these things.
Onomatopoeia
Phonaesthesia
Onomatopoeia definition
Onomatopoeia is when a word’s form sounds like the concept it refers to. eg. hiss, pop
Onomatopoeia is imitative in sound
Evidence against onomatopoeia + examples
As onomatopoeia, though similar in some ways, is different between different languages it does not prove that there is a definite link between form and concept.
In order to prove this, onomatopoeia would have to show a clear link across languages and onomatopoeic words would be the same or very similar in many/all languages. Ie, all frogs would say ‘croak’
‘ribbit’ (Amercia)
‘vrekekez koax koax’ Greece
Phonaesthesia definition
Phonaesthesia is when words expressing simialr concepts share some formal characteristics
There are enough genuine examples to represent a pattern of correspondence.
Unlike onomatopoeia, they DO NOT sound like the concepts they express.
Phonaesthesia examples
[SL] slip, slippery, slide, slither, sloppy, slimy, sleazy
-> meanings are associated with wetness or greasiness, and gradually take on unpleasant connotations.
Evidence against: words, such as
slant, slow
which do not share this feature
What does the indirect relationship between form and referent allow us to do?
The indirect relationship between form and referent allows us to talk about and understand referents that don’t exist in the real world eg. fictional characters/magic because the dotted line allows us to create new linguistically constructed worlds in which they do exist.
This dotted line also allows us to talk about abstract concepts such as, love/happiness/peace as we would with concrete referents.
Ostensive definition definition
An ostensive definition is when you define or explain a word by giving a referent as an example
-> typical referents (as examples) don’t give the meaning of a word, but they help us to understand a word by helping us form a concept. eg. what are clouds? Those shapes in the sky.
Concepts further definition/information
Concepts are:
- mental phenomenon/categories
- FUZZY CATEGORIES with prototypical and marginal members
Why are linguistic categories fuzzy?
Linguistic categories are fuzzy and often differ in different places/countries because categories are CULTURALLY CONSTRUCTED and they may not correspond to clear scientific/technical categories and definitions.
