Abel Questions #2, The Functions of Language

1. What are the functions of language? Just provide the main ones Abel describes.
The functions of language are: cognitive (“language transmits information”), expressively (“when we attend to the words themselves and to their atmosphere”), performatory (“[the words] themselves are the sole instrument of the action”). Abel also says that “Language also functions to tell a story, to declaim, to hypnotize, to play a part, to imagine, to soothe, to ask, to deceive, to demonstrate one’s feelings, and in endless other ways.”

2. What is significant about the story of the tribal boys and the table?
The significance of the story about the tribal boys and the table is that the visitor did not ask specifically for what he wanted so he was given many answers. What he did not realize was that only one of the answers he was given was the only true answer to what he was asking. He assumed that the language of the tribe had five words for "table." In that particular language however, thy only had one word for table, because it was only needed in a cognitive form.

3. What is the “inscrutability of reference?” (p. 228)
The “inscrutability of reference” is when the only “way of learning what words mean” is not able to be understood through “being shown the objects [the words] denote.” An example of this is given: “can you point to air?” The answer is you cannot, because it cannot be seen. The” inscrutability of reference” is understanding what words mean even if you cannot see the meaning.

4. What does Abel mean when he says that “Words are mere breaths of air, or scribbled pencil marks, but as used in a ‘language game’ by a speech community they are not arbitrary? “( p. 228)
Abel means that words are random, you can have a string of words, and not have it mean anything, but at the same time, there can be another string of words that has a perfectly clear meaning. The ‘language game’ he mentions, he means when exploring the way the words work, in our lives. That is why a speech community would be studying words. Also, a speaking community does not make up arbitrary sentences that have no meaning. When a person speaks, they speak to make sense, or more importantly make a point. If a person was to just use random words, it would be impossible to understand them, because speech is a very large part of how we communicate.

5. What is the difference between Animal and Human Language?
The radical difference between Animal and Human Language is that Human language “is always learned; it is not mechanically controlled by specific external stimuli or internal states; it is not restricted to communication of information; it is innovative and creative.”

6. What is Chomsky’s argument on how humans learn language? Be specific about linguistic competence.
Chomsky’s argument on how humans learn language is “a special ability must be posited to account for language learning.” His argument is also know as linguistic competence. This means that he believes that language is a learned skill, not something that comes naturally to humans. It must be instilled in a person; they are not genetically and mentally programmed to automatically speak.

7. What does Abel think about Chomsky’s argument?
Abel thinks that Chomsky’s argument has no necessity. He says: “I believe it is not warranted to postulate a specific human attribute called linguistic competence.” This means he does not find it important to confirm that there is a human skill need to learn language. He believes that “knowing how to use language is no more mysterious than other instances of knowing how.”

8. How would you answer Abel’s question: “Would an infant learn to speak, although isolated from adults, if he were constantly within earshot of a radio?” (p. 231)
I would answer Abel’s question by saying, yes, a child would learn to speak, if isolated form adults, yet always in earshot of a radio. The constant stream of words, which would usually be repeated (if you listen to a radio host, they often use many of the same words), would prompt the child to speak, but I think that just because someone has words, does not mean they have language, and I don’t think the radio, would help the child understand the words s/he was hearing. Without an adult to personally explain the words and their meanings to the child, the child would be simply a parrot, with no real understanding.

9. Why does Abel believe that “language is not in fact unique in the spectrum of human capacities?” (p. 231)
Abel believes that “language is not unique in the spectrum of human capacities” because the “human species has evolved certain physiological capacities and certain neurological dispositions to learn; no one can now say how specific these learning mechanisms are.” What Abel means by that is that the human linguistic capacity is not the only special capacity which humans have, and that all the other special capacities are just a mysterious as the linguistic one, so it is not necessary to find out if there is a special linguistic skill humans have the capacity to learn, instead of just possessing it.

10. What does Abel mean when he says: “We all learn these codes of stance, mannerism, gesture, tactility, interpersonal behavior…yet we are equally unable to state them fully”? (p. 232)
Abel means that according to Plato, we have no actual knowledge of all these “impersonal behaviors” because we are unable to explain them. Also that, all of these “codes” we have learned, are not always the same everywhere in the world. Abel gives examples of how the US version of an straight, honest man, how he stand up straight and looks others in the eye, is a “gangster, or barbarian” to the Vietnamese.

Eyak Language

I believe that by the time a language is dying, it is too late to “preserve” it. There are certain methods that should be used to ‘memorialize it,’ like creating a dictionary that converts the words to one of the major languages. But I think that if a language is already dying, it is too late to preserve it.
There are two sides to every story. Consequently there are two arguments to the debate of promoting a single language. In the NPR audio article, “The Sound of Vanishing Languages,” the male narrator makes an argument for letting languages die out: “Fewer languages, easier communication; not such a terrible thing.” He does however, provide a counter, albeit weak, argument: “Linguists, like botanists and zoologists, prefer diversity.” This first argument, that fewer languages would mean easier communication, is a strong argument. The phrase, “lost in translation” would be less valid, and in the case of only one language, it would be completely invalid. People would have much less trouble understanding each other, and idioms and colloquialisms would not have to be translated, just to make absolutely no sense in a different language.
The counter argument to having only one language in the world is partly that diversity is important to the world. Another part of this argument is that language is a part of culture, and if you lose a language, you lose part of the culture. An example of this is how the Inuit (A Native American Tribe in the pacific north-west), have approx. 100 different words for snow. If the world was to choose to have only one language, and it was not Intuit, all these words would be lost, and perhaps the Inuit people would not know how to express themselves, they way they use to. There are also financial implications. There would be many people out of jobs, if it was decided that there would be only one language in the world. All the people who are hired to create inter-language dictionaries like a French to English dictionary, would be out of jobs, because there would only be one language for everyone to learn. All the people hired to bind those books would be out of jobs. For the first generation, they would be needed to make all the dictionaries, converting all the languages into the new “only” language, but once everyone had learned that language, they would all be out of jobs. The second, third, fourth, and etc. generations would not need the dictionaries, because they would be brought up learning the language. Then all those people would be out of jobs, and it would be a huge crush to the world’s economy.
I think the best solution is to let dying languages die, because if they are already dying, it is too late to “save” (i.e. having many fluent speakers) it, but there are still ways to preserve the language. Just as was done with the Eyak Language, and Chief Marie Smith Jones, dictionaries and sound recordings should be done of the language, so that if anyone wants to study the language, it is available. Dead languages, are not truly dead, because they are not lost to the world. I believe that we should not let any languages be lost to the world, because each language is a part of someone’s culture and history. Consequently, I do not believe that there should only be one language spoken throughout the world. Conformity, even just confined to a language, shows closed-mindedness, which narrows one’s vision of the world, and one’s understanding of the world, and people in general.
After reading Every Teacher is a Language Teacher, I think that the I.B. supporting International Mother Language Day would be a great thing. As the article says it “encourag[es] students to use their mother tongue[, and] gets them interested in their native language and heritage.” This prevents languages, and as a result, heritage and culture from dying.

Earth v. Eyeth

a) What is the primary argument of the students representing Deaf Culture? The primary argument of the students at Gaullaudet for Deaf culture is that it is “a radical movement that views deafness not as a disability but as an oppressed minority status akin to race, and also as a unique linguistic culture. The movement holds that there is nothing wrong with being deaf, only with how society has treated deaf people.”

b) Why would the Deaf Culture students value a President of Gallaudet who spends more time in Eyeth over Earth? Shouldn't a President of a college represent all students? The Deaf Culture students would value a President of Gallaudet who spends more time in Eyeth over Earth, because then the President would have better and communication and understand and be better able to relate to the Deaf Culture Students. The President of a college should represent most, if not all of the students who attend his/her college. This is shown “in 1988, protesters rebelled against the appointment of a hearing president, Elisabeth Singer, and demanded a deaf president (something Gallaudet had never had since its founding in 1864). Singer resigned , and Jordan was appointed in her place. Fernandes, the Gallaudet provost whom Jordan wanted to see as his replacement, is also deaf; but to some, ‘not deaf enough.’ She grew up lip-reading and speaking and learned sign language only as a graduate student.”

c) What are the advantages and disadvantages of a Deaf person spending too much time in either Eyeth or Earth? The advantage of a Deaf person spending time in Eyeth is that said person can communicate with similarly communicated peoples, and not feel excluded by hearing people; the deaf person can easily focus on just sign language without having to try to read lips. The disadvantage to spending too much time in Eyeth is that said person can become isolated from the rest of the world, the hearing world, and may be lonely if s/he only occasionally meets another deaf person. The advantage of spending time in Earth is that the deaf person can communicate with all the people around them, hearing or not, through more than one method of communication, not just sign. The disadvantage to spending too much time on Earth is that hearing people would expect the deaf person to learn to read lips or even learn speech in order to communicate with hearing peoples, and said person would lose some of the ‘Deaf Culture.’

d) What is your opinion of the fight at Galludet? Should Jane K. Fernandes be President of Gallaudet? My opinion of the fight at Gallaudet is that it is pointless to argue. I believe that the applicant best qualified for the job should be the President. To say that some one is not “deaf enough” is like saying someone is not “white enough.” Its racism through social standards. Fernandes learned “sign language only as a graduate student,” but it shouldn’t matter if she was raised on ASL or if she learned it recently. She grew up learning how to communicate with the hearing world as best suited her, and it is not anyone’s business, nor should it effect her chances at a job, whenever she learned sign language. The point is that she can effectively communicate on both Eyeth and Earth, and if she is properly and best qualified to be the President of Gallaudet than she should be able to be. But then again, who am I to judge, I who could only survive on Eyeth if everything was spelled out slowly, letter by letter, for me?

Linguistic Apartheid notes

Laws Should Restrict Housing for Non-Gaelic Speakers:
• Preserve language→preserve culture. Packed together better use of language. Language is part of the culture, Sapir –Whorf→linguistic determination→if not would eliminate Irish view point
• We were here 1st, Gaelic was the original language
• NOT Racism→You don’t have to live in that part of Ireland
• Might motivate to learn the language
• Good way to keep in touch with the roots, their old culture, even while time moves on→keeps TRADITION (cultural implications)
• You can learn the language
• We can’t let it die





Linguistic Apartheid:
• Discrimination→ Human Right’s implication’s→what would the EU say?
• Elitist
• Living in the past→”bog people”→JOIN the 21st Century
• Discourages improvements/knowledge and narrows the horizons
• Economic implications (we’ll go somewhere else)
• Isolate even more because people won’t want to learn the language just to live there.
• No one speaks it
• We can’t save every language
• Let parents deal with it

Abel Chapter 7 Questions

1. How Do Mill and Frege disagree with Russell about grammatical sentences and meaning?
I. Mill and Frege say that “the meaning of a sentence ought to depend only on the meaning of words that constitute it,” which basically is a sentence says what it means, and has relevance to the context or makes sense. However, Russell disagrees and says “there may be grammatical sentences, and thus apparently meaningful sentences, without meaning.” So Russell argues that not every grammatically correct sentence has meaning
2. Abel provides 8 distinguishing features of meaning. Provide an example for each.
I. Indication-“That look in her eyes means trouble not far behind.”
II. Cause-“What does the rain mean for the plants?”
III. Effect-“It means they won’t die from a drought.”
IV. Intention-“I didn’t mean to use all the hot water during my shower.”
V. Explanation-“Why did he do that?”
VI. Purpose-“He does that to show he likes you.”
VII. Implication-“If the roads are too icy from freezing rain, we won’t have to go to school.”
VIII. Significance- “Does this impact my grade?”
3. Why does Abel believe that science and metaphysics is involved in the discussion of linguistic meaning?
I. Abel believes that metaphysics and science must be taken into account when discussing linguistic meaning because “we can talk meaningfully about the world only if we take into account what the world is like." Abel means that we must begin to understand how the world works physically, before we begin to think about it metaphorically.
4. Aristotle provided 10 categories that defined “the range of applicability of a term.” Provide your own example for each.
I. Substance-“It is a book.”
II. Quantity-“It has 498 pages.”
III. Quality-“It was an #1 New York Times Bestseller.”
IV. Relation-“It is the first book in the series.”
V. Place-“It is in my room.”
VI. Time-“It is there are night.”
VII. Action-“It is captivating.”
VIII. Passion-“It is being criticized.”
IX. Situation or Position-“It is on my beside table, next to my lamp.”
X. State or condition-“It is dog-eared and well read.”
5. How does Abel differentiate between Reference and Naming?
I. Reference is “how language bites on to the world. It is a distinctively human activity, and it is public.” Abel means that reference is the simplest and most public (and therefore a verified truth) way to refer to an object, usually by name. Naming is “the direct application of a word to a thing…nothing stands between a thing and its name.” So a reference can be something like “That thing with the shaggy head and wet nose is a dog.” While naming is “that is a dog.” Naming can be referencing, but referencing is not always naming.
6. On Page 66 Abel explains the historical significance of naming. Can you think of any examples he left out? Any contemporary ones he may not be aware of?
I. In Auschwitz, all the prisoners were labeled by being branded on their arms with numbers and letters, and that is how they were referred to.. They were unworthy, in the Nazis’ eyes to have ownership of a name, something that set them apart.
II. On Facebook, if someone tags you in a photograph, they use your name to identify you.
7. What is the main function of naming? What doesn’t it do?
I. The main function of naming is to identify something, without using specifics. It gives a generalization.
II. It doesn’t explicitly state whatever the object is. It is one way of referring to things.
8. What is the difference between sense and reference?
I. The difference between sense and reference is that sense is a description, and reference is that “which is what the words point to or designate.” A sense is to describe something, like “That is Bert, with the moustache.” A reference is to say, “That is Bert.”
9. How does Abel differentiate between Connotation and Denotation? Intension and extension?
I. Connotation is the meaning of the word, whereas the denotation is the examples you get of the word. For example, a nerd is someone who goes to comic book conventions and watches star trek reruns. That is the Connotation of someone’s idea of a nerd. The denotation is if they say “By that definition, Ben, Noah, Eric, and Jimmy, are all nerds.”
II. Intension is “’what you have in mind’ by the term,” whereas extension is all of those in the world by the definition. Intension in our example would be just the people you consider to be “nerds:” Ben, Noah, Eric and Jimmy. Extension is every person in the world who conform to your definition if “nerd.”
10. What does Abel mean when he says “Though meanings require words, they are not identical to words.”
I. Abel means that words do not always carry the same exact meaning every time they are used. “The old woman can no longer bear children,” and “I can’t bear it anymore!” both use the word bear, but it has two different meanings in the first one, it is meant that the woman is too old to have children. The second one states that she can’t bear it anymore,” which indicates frustration, that she cannot deal with anymore abuse.
11. What is the connection between names and descriptions? Do you agree with Abel that we use ‘linguistic symbols to organize experience?
I. The connection between names and descriptions is that they are both ways to refer to things properly. Sometimes they overlap when one uses a name as a description (“He’s another Hitler.”)
II. I do agree with Abel, that we use linguistic symbols to organize experience. We often recall certain events by the most important words said during a conversation, or the one of voice used.
12. Why is referential opacity a problem? Be sure to mention specific examples.
I. Referential opacity is a problem because logically one should be able to rearrange the order of the words in a sentence because “there are certain linguistic contexts in which you cannot substitute one name for another name, or one description for another description, even though they refer to the same particular thing.”
II. Examples:
i. Samuel Clemens adopted the pen name Mark Twain to conceal his identity, which is far different from the other example, “Mark Twain adopted the pen name Mark Twain to conceal his identity, which doesn’t make any sense.
ii. The number of states in the US is 50, and 50 is necessarily less than 51, but the number of states is not necessarily less than 51.
iii. Bert thinks the capital of Oregon is Sacramento, but Sacramento is the capital of California, but that does not mean that Bert thinks the capital of Oregon is inside California.
13. What is the problem of creating a “subsistent entity?”
I. The problem is that with a subsistent entity, one does not believe something exists, but in order to believe that it does not exist one must think about it, which is a paradox, because how do you think about something you don’t believe in.
14. How does Russell differentiate between “descriptive phases and names?
I. He differentiates by saying that descriptive phrases are words that have no denotation, like “the golden mountain,” which is descriptive. A name is something “you must have a direct acquaintance with, “ and which has a denotation.
15. What is the Connection between language and Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by description?
I. The connection is that in language, in order to put a name on something “you must have a direct acquaintance with [it].” The knowledge by Acquaintance allows one to use language to name something.
II. The connection is that in language, you must be able to describe something to reference it. Therefore Knowledge by description is very helpful in referencing objects, especially if their name must pertain to their description.
16. What is a word? What is an icon? What is an index?
I. Word-“a device by which one thing can signify something else.”
II. Icon-“refers to something by looking at a little like it”
III. Index-“is casually connected with what it refers to.”
17. Why is it important fro philosophers to “clarify thought by clarifying language? Why are scientists offenders?”
I. It is important because if we don’t clarify the language, the author/speaker’s words get mixed up and/or are expressed with the incorrect ton. Scientists are offenders because the terms they use to express abstract ideas such and various phenomena of the universe have “no clear denotation or extension.”
18. What does Abel mean when he says, “Just as meanings are not the same as words, so meanings are not the same as operations, or methods or uses?”
I. Abel means that meanings cannot “successfully be paired with actions” and so therefore are not similar to actions that require action or uses, which also require action.

Reflections and War Speak

1. What Went Well As A Class

As a class, I thought that we had a wide variety of interesting topics, that almost every one was to explain and cover successfully. There were topics, from the 2008 Olympics, to Foreign Fashion Ads, to The Gaza War. Everyone was organized and prepared: most people had powerpoints, with outlines or some other form of easy organization. Most people managed to fit into the time slot, or only went over a little bit.

2. What Went Well As An Individual

In my presentation, I was able to fit in all my information in the given time slot, and still explore my knowledge issue throughly (I think.) I rehearsed my presentation and timed it and was able to know what I had to do to have a good presentation. I had an introduction, I talked about what my presentation was about.

3. 'Not So Much' As A Class

I think that in general, each person in the class had too much information for ten minutes, and many people were rushing to squeeze it in. The topics explored were more factual, and not as much about ToK. Also working on conclusions, for future, maybe use the implications or a counterclaim, instead of just saying "that's it."

4.'Not So Much' As An Individual

I think that I rushed a lot of my speaking, and it might have been hard to understand everything I was trying to express. In my introduction, I could have said a little bit more about the two sides of the argument.

"TEL AVIV - As Israeli soldiers pull back from the Gaza Strip and Hamas's rockets go silent, Israel's dormant election campaign has come back to life.
With just three weeks before voters go to the polls, the center-left government is getting high marks from the Israeli public for its pounding offensive in Gaza. But Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and her ruling centrist Kadima Party may fall victim to the military's success.
Polls show that the conservative opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have opened up a bigger lead, based on a public concern that the offensive left the Hamas regime intact while failing to free an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, imprisoned in Gaza for 2-1/2 years.
"That's one of the interesting paradoxes of the war," says Mitchell Barak, a pollster who runs the survey group Keevoon. "It restored the Israeli public's confidence in the Israeli army, and in Israel's leadership's ability to defend its citizens ... but it didn't go far enough [to weaken Hamas]."
On the third day of the Israel-Hamas cease-fire, there were rival allegations of violations. The Palestinians said that a farmer was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip, a charge denied by a military spokeswoman. Israel's army said that it returned fire after one of its units inside Gaza was shot at near the border fence.
The three-week Gaza war has shifted the focus of Israel's truncated parliamentary campaign toward the best approach in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and the threat of rockets on southern Israel.
Already, Ms. Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak of the Labor Party are back on the campaign trail hailing the war's achievements. They're touting Israel's restored deterrence against militants and the international support expressed by US and European leaders.
Addressing Israeli college students in a Tel Aviv suburb Tuesday, Livni bragged that European leaders came to Jerusalem to work with Israeli leaders despite the international uproar over the Palestinian civilian toll during fighting. About 1,300 Palestinians were killed, many of them noncombatants and children, according to health officials.
"If Hamas fires a Qassam rocket at Israel, they will get hit again, just like they got hit now, and they know that," Livni said in an interview with Israel Radio on Monday.
Mr. Netanyahu, who had the awkward role of defending the government to the international press during the Gaza offensive, has resumed his criticism of this government's Gaza policy. Right-wing allies of Netanyahu have warned that the military operation has left Hamas in a position to threaten Israel in the future.
Just a few weeks ago, before the fighting, the campaign focused on good government, economics, and leadership.
"Today it's a different world. Security and leadership, mainly in times of crisis, have moved center stage," wrote Yossi Verter, a political commentator in the Haaretz newspaper. "Netanyahu is feeling good – Hamas was always his preferred playing field. In 2006 he was talking about 'Hamastan,' and nobody wanted to listen."
To be sure, the biggest single winner from the war has been Mr. Barak and his Labor Party, which seemed to be fading into irrelevancy with polls indicating a fourth or fifth place finish prior to the war. Labor's 50 percent jump in popularity puts it in third place and makes Barak a leading candidate to continue as defense minister in the next government, but he's still far behind in the race for prime minister.
Netanayhu's Likud party continues to lead Livni's Kadima party by a range of three to six seats, according to recent polls. What's more, right-wing and religious parties are projected to control a 10-seat majority over a coalition of center, left, and Arab parties in the 120-seat parliament. That would allow Netanyahu, who first served as prime minister for three years in the 1990s, a leg up in forming a coalition.
Netanyahu has said that before negotiating a final peace deal can be reached with the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority needs to build up the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and implement further political reforms. Critics say such a delay in the peace process comes when many fear that the window of opportunity is closing for a two-state solution.
Livni's prospects as prime minister looked more promising at the start of the Gaza war, when several polls showed a coalition of center-left wing and Arab parties pulling even with the right wing. Livni is now coming under fire from those who were unhappy with the UN Security Council Resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire and the international pressure to withdraw from Gaza.
She is also criticized for the failure to force Hamas to negotiate over Corporal Shalit, the Israeli soldier taken hostage.
Political analysts note, however, a fragile cease-fire with Hamas means the fighting might not be finished, creating a volatile environment for public opinion leading up to the Feb. 10 vote. "It's very fluid," says Avraham Diskin, a political science professor at Hebrew University. "If something happens and the Israeli army retaliates, [the fighting] won't be over."

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0121/p11s03-wome.html

pull back-retreat, stop attacking

offensive- attacking

ability to defend- attack after being attacked

cease-fire- when enemies agree to stop attacking each other, temporarily

returned fire-shooting or attacking on the return

deterrence-when a military has enough strength and weapons to show that can it defend against any aggression

militants-soldiers, or military personal, usually enemies.

noncombatants-civilians

military operation-an attack

peace deal-when enemies try to negotiate a peace, usually where one enemy surrenders. a treaty.

peace process-negotiation of a peace deal or treaty.

Language Notes

1. The Three Components of Language: Rule-Based, Intentional, and Open-Ended.

- Rule based (governed)

-Grammar (rules)

-Vocabulary

-Examples from Class:

- In English, Noun before Verb. In Korean, Verb before Noun.

-There is no "correct" word for dog; it's different in all languages. 

-Intentional

-All language is communication but not all communication is language. Communication can happen but it can be misinterpreted, which is not language.

-Example from Class:

-Body Language can or cannot be language depending on whether there is   intent to send a message. 

-Open-Ended (Creative)

-Language evolves

-Examples from Class:

-Language evolves in form: from handwritten to blog

-Language evolves in the form of new words: -Elbow, -Muggle, -Obscene, -Hoodie, -Kindergarten

Theories of Meaning

2. Definition Theory: A word has to have a definition to it, that you can look up in the dictionary.

-Examples from Class:

-Triangle (a strength of this word was that, through the definition we could draw it.)

-Table

-Desk

-Love (a weakness of this word is that it is more of an idea than an object like "triangle," so it's definition gets more complex and circular [From Love-> Profound<->Deep])

3. Denotation Theory: The Literal meaning of the word. Meaningful words are distinguished from non-meaningful words.

-Examples from Class:

-France:

-A place/country in between Spain and Germany and it borders the Pyrennes and the Atlantic.

-Gamazi:

-It means nothing, it has no meaning to us; random, made-up by Mr. Steedman.

-Hitler:

-dictator, killed people. "a bad bad man," which refers to a specific idea (which sometimes comes from being famous or infamous), but when it's used as "he's another Hitler," it's not the literal meaning.

-November 27, 2008 in Mumbai, India: That was "their 9/11." The use of the American tragedy, September 11, 2001 or 9/11, has become a term.

-Freedom:

-Harder to denote because it's an idea, not a physical object.

4. Image Theory: The meaning of a word lends a mental image. The image depends on the context.

-Examples from Class:

-Freedom:

-An eagle, a flag, the Statue of Liberty

-Tree:

-brown bark, green leaves (often the image of a child's drawing of a tree in conjured) 

-Question about Image Theory: How do we understand the meaning of another person's word? What if we don't have the same mental image?

-My answer: If possible ask for explanation, description, and/or  conformation of the same image.

Problems with Language

5. Vagueness-No clear or descriptive meaning. The vagueness of a word or statement depends on the context.

-Examples from Class:

-Slow, fast close, a lot, bald

There are disadvantages, such as not knowing exactly what one means, but vague words can also be useful, especially in generalization. It is impossible to make words completely precise.

6. Ambiguity- Words have more than one meaning, but how they are interpreted depends on the context.

-Example from Class:

-"The Duchess cannot bear children." This can be taken to mean that she cannot give birth to children, or that she despises children.

7. Second Meaning (i. e. denotation, connotation, and euphemisms)

-Denotation: "the explicit or direct meaning of a word or set of words."

-Example from Class: see the Number 6 example.

-Connotation: "The associated or second meaning of a word or expression, in addition to its explicit, or primary meaning.

-Example from Class: none given.

- Example: Home, in addition to meaning, the place where one lives, can also have second meaning in that it is the place where one often feels comfortable, surrounded by friendliness and affection.

-Euphemism:"the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh or blunt."

-Example from Class: none given.

-Example: Someone who has died is often said to have "passed away." This phrase is usually used in delivering the news of death so as to soften the blow.

8.   Metaphor: A phrase used to compare two things without using "like" or "as."

-Example from Class: none given.

-Example: "You are ice cold." The speaker is comparing one's warmth to ice, without using like or as.

9. Irony: "The use of words to convey a meaning opposite of its literal meaning."

-Example from Class: Sarcasm

-A more specific example:"a free ride when you've already paid."

Problems with Translations

10. Untranslatable Words: Some words that are so complex that the can't be understood in a different language, so that a phrase is needed.

-Examples from Class:

-Mamihlapinatapi (Terra del Fuegan)-to look at each other hoping that the other will offer to do something that both parties greatly desire, but neither is willing to do. 

- Aware (Japenese)-femoral beauty

11. Idioms: Colloquialisms (Common phrases, better used in speech in one language, than in writing.)

-Examples from Class:

-Beat around the Bush

- The French: "Don't sell me onions," translates to the English: "Mind your own business," but if translated back to French, is "Go attend to your own affairs, your own matters," and the wittiness of the original idiom is lost.

12. Labels- Something marked, physically or verbally, to differentiate, or to organize.

-Example from Class: For differentiate

-to show accomplishment and/ or responsibility: Harry Potter's Scar.

-Examples from Class: For organization

-Groups: Non-fiction books vs. Fiction books

-To help get us through the day: "This is my Physics book, and it goes before my French book, because I have Physics and then French."

-Problems with Labels: they usually generalize, which can be problematic.

13. Stereotypes- "a set form; convention." Stereotypes are much like labels.

-Example from Class: In class, stereotypes were briefly mentioned stating that they were much like labels: to differentiate, and to sometimes show organization.

-Examples: "She wears dark lipstick, dyed her hair black, wears dark and heavy eyeliner, and wears only black clothing, so she must be a goth, so she belongs over there, at the goth lunch table."

14. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Language determines our experience of reality. Linguistic Determination. 

-Examples from Class:

-For the hypothesis the Hopi Indians were studied, and it was found that they had no words for time: past, present or future, nor past or future tenses.

-Pol Pat-1920s Cambodia and the Year Zero

-Peter Farm tested housewives by asking them the same questions in 2 different languages. The answers in both languages differed. Does this show that thought occurs before language?

Emotionally Laden Language

15. Emotive meaning: certain words evoke certain emotions.

-Examples from class:

-1st class/ 2nd Class vs. Business/Coach

-Gassy water

-Tax Hike vs. Stimulus Plan

16. Weasel Words: vague words, they can't be pinned down.

-Examples from class:

-"tomorrow," "soon," "later," "probably"

17. Grammar: Semantics of language, using it in sentence structure to reveal and conceal.

-Examples from Class:

-See number 18

18. Revealing and Concealing: Certain words which evoke emotion, can conceal meaning, or reveal it.

-Examples from class:

-The village was bombed. --> more tragedy

-We bombed village.-->either prideful or regretful, has more of a patriotic tone.