What is involved in thinking about meaning?
There are three dimensions or levels of meaning: the first being the meaning of a word, of an utterance and of a text. In other words, what is being said between the lines, what can be inferred by the author’s diction that is not so clear? The second dimension addresses the possible meanings of words that contribute to the meaning of an utterance, which is an act by the speaker. The text, something the author has constructed, and its meaning is not a proposition but what it does, its potential to affect readers is the third dimension. All in all, it is important to look at the whole picture while reading a text, not just the literal language used, but why that specific language was used versus any other number of words.
Ferdinand de Saussere, on the other hand, found that a language is a system of differences. His theory of language states that “what makes each element of a language what it is, and what gives it its identity, are the contrasts between it and other elements within the system of the language” (Culler, 57). Since language is a system of signs and the key facts, Saussure calls this “arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign”. There is no way of showing that there are thoughts of one language that can't be thought or expressed in another, but we do have evidence that one language makes 'natural' or 'normal' thoughts that require a special effort in another. Saussere also has a secondary theory that both the form and meaning of a word are forms of division in the planes of sound and thought. This can also be broken down by the sounds words make and the meanings of each word, just because the sound is similar does not mean that the word is.
What determines meaning?
The meaning of an utterance is what someone intends the reader understand. Sometimes the meaning is in the text and other times the context is what determines meaning. The meaning of a work to a certain individual may not be what the writer intended, and can differ among individuals. If you come up with an interpretation, you have to persuade others of its pertinence, or it will be dismissed. Meaning is the experience of a subject and a property of a text; what we understand and what we try to understand.
There are three dimensions or levels of meaning: the first being the meaning of a word, of an utterance and of a text. In other words, what is being said between the lines, what can be inferred by the author’s diction that is not so clear? The second dimension addresses the possible meanings of words that contribute to the meaning of an utterance, which is an act by the speaker. The text, something the author has constructed, and its meaning is not a proposition but what it does, its potential to affect readers is the third dimension. All in all, it is important to look at the whole picture while reading a text, not just the literal language used, but why that specific language was used versus any other number of words.
Ferdinand de Saussere, on the other hand, found that a language is a system of differences. His theory of language states that “what makes each element of a language what it is, and what gives it its identity, are the contrasts between it and other elements within the system of the language” (Culler, 57). Since language is a system of signs and the key facts, Saussure calls this “arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign”. There is no way of showing that there are thoughts of one language that can't be thought or expressed in another, but we do have evidence that one language makes 'natural' or 'normal' thoughts that require a special effort in another. Saussere also has a secondary theory that both the form and meaning of a word are forms of division in the planes of sound and thought. This can also be broken down by the sounds words make and the meanings of each word, just because the sound is similar does not mean that the word is.
What determines meaning?
The meaning of an utterance is what someone intends the reader understand. Sometimes the meaning is in the text and other times the context is what determines meaning. The meaning of a work to a certain individual may not be what the writer intended, and can differ among individuals. If you come up with an interpretation, you have to persuade others of its pertinence, or it will be dismissed. Meaning is the experience of a subject and a property of a text; what we understand and what we try to understand.
Hello Group Four,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to thank you for your presentation on Tuesday. You did a good job of managing difficult material. However, in order for you to get full credit for the assignment, you will need to add more to this post. It is only 280 words long and the assignment requires 350 (no more than 550). So please meet the word requirement.
My other suggestion is that you use some kind of formatting on the post to make it easier to read. Rather than one long paragraph, break it up into a few smaller paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on some distinct aspect of the summary. Finally, be sure to reread what you've written to make sure there aren't any obvious mistakes (typos, punctuation errors, etc.).
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
James
I could not determine if there was a way to edit the original version so I decided to create a new one, here is the edited version.
ReplyDelete~Randi
What is involved in thinking about meaning?
There are three dimensions or levels of meaning: the first being the meaning of a word, of an utterance and of a text. In other words, what is being said between the lines, what can be inferred by the author’s diction that is not so clear? The second dimension addresses the possible meanings of words that contribute to the meaning of an utterance, which is an act by the speaker. The text, something the author has constructed, and its meaning is not a proposition but what it does, its potential to affect readers is the third dimension. All in all, it is important to look at the whole picture while reading a text, not just the literal language used, but why that specific language was used versus any other number of words.
Ferdinand de Saussere, on the other hand, found that a language is a system of differences. His theory of language states that “what makes each element of a language what it is, and what gives it its identity, are the contrasts between it and other elements within the system of the language” (Culler, 57). Since language is a system of signs and the key facts, Saussure calls this “arbitrary nature of the linguistic sign”. There is no way of showing that there are thoughts of one language that can't be thought or expressed in another, but we do have evidence that one language makes 'natural' or 'normal' thoughts that require a special effort in another. Saussere also has a secondary theory that both the form and meaning of a word are forms of division in the planes of sound and thought. This can also be broken down by the sounds words make and the meanings of each word, just because the sound is similar does not mean that the word is.
What determines meaning?
The meaning of an utterance is what someone intends the reader understand. Sometimes the meaning is in the text and other times the context is what determines meaning. The meaning of a work to a certain individual may not be what the writer intended, and can differ among individuals. If you come up with an interpretation, you have to persuade others of its pertinence, or it will be dismissed. Meaning is the experience of a subject and a property of a text; what we understand and what we try to understand.
Randi,
ReplyDeleteLooks like you got it. Thanks for reposting.
Best,
James