EARLY THEARIES OF MEANING semantics .pdf
- 2. Ivor Amstrong Richards (1893-1979 England) Inspired by the work of Chars Kay Ogden(1889-1957) Collectively wrote the book “ The Meaning Of Meaning” in 1923. Largely influence by the work of Francis Bacon “The Idols Of The Market Place “ Bacon’s blief that “ Language functions as a potential barrier to understanding” inspired Richards to view rhetoric / speech/ conversation/ language as a study of misunderstanding and its remedies.
- 3. Theory is about: 1. Misunderstanding of language/ meaning and its remedies 2. TO understand the Semantic Triangle A B T dog 3. TH RELATIONSHIP IS NOT ICONIC IT IS ORBITRARY. SEMAN TIC TRIANG LE SEMAN TIC TRIANG LE Thought/ mind symbol Refrent/ object Barking 4 legs animal Dog
- 4. 4. Another Pbroblem in human communication is that we tend to confuse “ symbol” or “word” with the thing or object in reality. This led Richards, in his explanation of the theory “ Proper Meaning Superstition”. 5. Symbol “ dog” is not the thing or reality. 6. A word/the meaning actually is in the mind of the people not in the word. 7 .Word’s meaning is interpreted by the people according to their past/ present experiences. For example liking or disliking any thing , any object, any pet any book etc. This liking or disliking is in the mind / experience of the person which is actually called the reference in the mind of the listener/ speaker. 8 . This developed the proper meaning superstition which means that a single meaning is not possessed by the word. The word has its meaning according to the listener who has a different reference from the other person who listens it. 9 . According to this theory that it is superstitions that word has only a single meaning, rather words have meanings according to the experience of the people.
- 5. The Use of Metaphor: 1. According to Richards, the use of METAPHOR is the best for understanding the meaning of the word . He says metaphor are the best or suitable for the sake of comprehension of the situation/ meaning . He says, “ metaphors are effective in facilitating the comprehension and therefore minimizing misunderstanding.” For example, the plummer and Biologist
- 6. 2. In discussing metaphor, Richards makes the use of two tems; “tenor” and “vehicle”. The tenor refers to the principal subject of the metaphor while the vehicle conveys the underlying idea , the borrowed idea or what the tenor resembles. For example, in “ my kitten as white as snow.” the tenor is the kitten is the vehicle is the snow ( i.e. characteristics of whiteness/ whitening are being attributed to the kitten.