The Importance Of General Semantics

In the field of Modern Languages and Linguistics, words are of great importance. A language’s phonology (study of how sounds are organized and used), morphology (study of the form and structure of words), syntax (study of the rules that govern sentence structure), semantics (study of meaning of words, sentences, and expressions), pragmatics (study of aspects of meaning and language use and context), and phonetics (study of human speech sounds) all play an important part in everyday life. These have a major impact in understanding the intent of what is spoken or heard. Due to the importance of communication, literary elements such as metaphors (which are defined as a figure of speech in which a word or phrase

Language corresponds to countless appellations, as the expresser of thought and ultimate origin of philosophy, influencing the world of knowledge with its astonishing qualities. The very essence of cooperation and communication relies eternally on the inspired art of language, without which any possible human development could occur. Furthermore, the perception of verbal communication splits between two realms, reality and literature, constituting two linguistic variations, figurative and literal. Throughout the world of literature, figurative language adds depth and dimension to

What do you understand by semantics, as a major component of language, and explain denotative and connotative meanings with at least one example.

Language, is a way for people to communicate and express their opinions between one another. Yet, another factor is important in engaging with language. This factor is the practice and context of certain words, used to emphasize opinions or generalizations. Through the accounts of Tannen, Sanders, and Hughes, the significance of certain words, and the many interpretations signaled by people of different perspectives, are discussed. The written texts centered around mostly the pragmatic aspect of language, the intentions of spoken or written expression.

Have you ever wondered how we speak? How about why our communication is considered a language and other animal’s communication is not considered language? A wide range of beliefs exist on what defines language. Thus, by exploring the definition of language and lexicon, evaluating language’s key features, the four levels of language structure and processing, and the role of language in Cognitive Psychology, an understanding of what language is becomes clear. Let us begin by defining language and a term named lexicon.

0 Semantics is the study of effect of the arrangement of words in a sentence.

Interpreting and mental processing. Cokely (1992), Taylor (1993), and later Russell (2002) illustrate in their research dissertations that the interpreting process, from the source message to producing an equivalent interpretation in the target language (ASL or English), occurs in nanoseconds. Researchers who assess the impact on message accuracy within an interpretation further support the need for preparation to assist in the production of a dynamic equivalent interpreted message. The less an ASLI/TiE knows about a subject results in more time spent on attempting to understand the content and meaning, thus impacting the target language message. Napier and Barker (2004), explain ASLI/TiE’s “decontextualize each original utterance to a certain extent so that it is a separate unit and can be recontextualized as a new utterance in the ‘flow of talk’” (p. 373) as part of the mental interpreted process. In doing so effectively the

our concepts, ideas, and feelings” (Hall 1997a, p. 1). He contends that “language is one of the

There are a lot of people using words as symbols and what they mean differently. In society, people deals with symbolic interaction to define words. Symbolic interaction is the way of human beings with social behaviors and using words as definitions, but it can also create, define, and shared. According to G.H Mead, he believed all sorts of things about symbol interaction, and the way of how symbols can relate the vocabulary of all the words they know or what they don’t know. I can tell you all the symbols and what they mean in the vocabularies.

‘Ideas (or meanings) are perceived as objects’, ‘Linguistic expressions are perceived as containers’ and ‘communication is perceived as sending’. This means that when someone wants to say an expression (the object), he puts concepts into words (which are the container) and sends them along a conduit to the person who is hearing him and who takes the concept out of the words which means out of the containers. Examples of the ‘conduit metaphor’ are: “I gave you that idea”, “it is difficult to put my ideas into words”, “Her words carry little meaning”.

The trendy social movement known as locavorism is making news headlines, and sparking controversies across the nation. This so called “hipster” approach to solving issues with the way foods are being distributed has earned its followers recognition across the states. These locavores believe in relying solely on growing and purchasing local food for a better taste, and more nutritious meal. The issue with their strict local approach to purchasing groceries is that it leads to a war of semantics.

"Words [or labels], like little buckets, are assumed to pick up their loads of meaning in one person's mind, carry them across the intervening space, and dump them

Scholars such as Jonson and Toulmin (1988) emphasized the centrality of argumentation in rhetorical interaction. In his publication entitled the ‘philosophy of rhetoric’ I.A Richards (1936:7-11) criticized the ‘proper meaning superstition’ and adopted different stand to that of the classical period where rhetoric was confined to persuasion, for him the study of meaning represent the backbone for the study of rhetoric. For I.A. Richards words can have various meanings and consequently will result in ambiguity of meaning.

Mead’s theory states the civilization we live in today is only here because of symbolic interactionism. Rather, without the different forms of communication human life would not be as advanced or intellectual. According to Mead, humans react towards others based on the perception we create of that individual in our head. Furthermore, humans cannot do this independently, but rely heavily on other’s perceptions to justify their own. Mead discusses how meaning is not pre-determined, but it is brought to light through symbolic interactionism. Mead proposes that there is an individualistic approach to the meanings of different symbols. The shortage

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” – Benjamin Lee Whorf