Student: Jaime Ignacio Bautista Henao / ID: 000234130 Course: Language, Langue and Parole Professor: Jorge Ivn Jim!ne" #arc$a
't(, 201)* Date: %&ril 't(,
MEANING AS SIGN:
+igns, in all o t(eir -inds, are (uman &roductions and re&roductions t(at emerge rom t(e interactions .eteen our mind and t(e orld e live in, creating in t(at dialectic (at e call call reality, (ic( is a netor- o encoded e&eriences o&ened or eac( individual and deined . language and culture* nd, cons onsists ists on our ca&acit it o signi niin ing g rea realit lit and Language, on one (and, communicating t(ose signs according to a common code culture, on t(e ot(er, includes t(e contet (ere t(ose signs emerge, coeist and com.ine it( ot(er signs to orm common common &atterns &atterns o meaning* meaning* In t(at res&ect, res&ect, ramsc( ramsc( e&lain e&lains s t(at t(e signifier 5sound or ord6 in itsel is not a sign unless someone recogni"es it as suc( and relates it to a signified 5conce&t67 and t(at dierent signs denote realit . cutting it u& in dierent as7 5&* 1)6* %s a result o t(ose interactions, language (as to orms o meaning in its association it( culture: one o t(em is called semantics and is related to (at language sas or (at it reers as an encoded sign t(e ot(er one is -non as pragmatics and involves (at language does as an action in contet* ramsc( considers, in t(is c(a&ter, t(e as&ects regarding semantics* In t(e semantic ield, as t(e aut(or states, meaning can .e denotative, (ic( is (en ords &oint to o.8ects o t(e real orld connotative, (ic( is (en ords are lin-ed to t(e man associations t(e evo-e in t(e minds o t(eir users or iconic, (ic( consists on eclamations reerred to emotions or actions as t(e imitate t(em*
%ccording to t(at, signs rom one language do not matc(, &eer to &eer, it( t(e ones rom anot(er language, neit(er conce&tuall nor &(onologicall* 9or instance, (ere is a c(art it( some contentrelated signs rom t(ree dierent languages:
(Taken and adapted from Arango, 1980).
I e consider t(at t(e meaning o eac( sign covers t(e area on (ic( t(e ord a&&ears, e can see t(at t(e +&anis( ords leña, madera and bosque are included in t(e meaning o t(e 9renc( ord bois, t(oug( selva is ecluded* ;ean(ile, in t(e meaning o t(e #erman ord holz , onl leña and madera are included, t(oug( bosque is ecluded, as ell as selva* (iro&tera, (ile or t(e second one, e e&ect it ill .e an im&lement it( a (andle and a surace, used or (itting a s&eciic -ind o .all* ?(e aut(or also mentions some as&ects a.out t(e non!ar"itrary nature of signs, stating t(at sociali"ation into a given discourse communit includes ma-ing its signiing &ractices seem totall natural7 5&* 206, (ic( means t(at, or language users, t(e t(oug(ts and t(e ords t(e conceive are merged in suc( a t(at, rom t(eir
&ers&ective, t(ose to t(ings are one and are usuall motivated, as ell, . t(eir needs and desires, In t(e last &aragra&(s o t(is second c(a&ter, ramsc( ocuses on sym"ols, (ic( are conventionali"ed signs ta-en out o t(eir original social and (istorical contet, and em&tied o t(e ullness o t(eir meaning7 5&* 216* ?(at loss o t(eir original denotative and even connotative meanings does not reduce sm.ols ca&acit o signiing .ut, instead, allos language users to recontetuali"e and &recontetuali"e, it( t(em, &ast and uture events into current contets o tal-* %mong sm.ols, t(e aut(or also includes a certain -ind o ro"en signs called cultural stereotypes, (ic( are in t(e middle o t(e road .eteen semantics and &ragmatics,
(ere language intersects it( social &oer* ?(e are &roduced and re&roduced not onl it( t(e &ur&ose o encoding (uman e#periences .ut also it( t(e intention o regulating (uman actions* In t(is regard, ramsc( las out an o&en @uestion: (ere does semantics end and &ragmatics .eginA7 5&* 236* %n anser to t(at mig(t ta-e more t(an anot(er c(a&ter or even t(e etent o (er (ole .oo-*
$eferences:
%rango, L* 51C06* =l signo ling$stico en +aussure* Revista Lingüística y Literatura, 3, &&* 3E2*
ramsc(, >* 51C6* Language and ulture * Fe Gor-: ord niversit Press*
