How We Construct Meaning Mrs. Pelletier

Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) French linguist explored the way human beings construct meaning through language This concept was explored as early as Plato in a work called Cratylus.

Terminology Idea Signified Word Signifier

Continued… Signifier (word): psychological imprint of the sound; the impression that it makes on our senses Signified (concept): the idea referred to by the signifier

The Arbitrary Nature of the Sign The linguistic sign, or the bond between the signifier and the signified, is arbitrary because there is no natural connection between them the idea existed before there was a word to describe it the idea ONLY has meaning to us IF we have a way to describe it

Continued… Ex.: - English: tree - Spanish: arbol - Latin: arbor - Russian: derevo - Polish: dzrewo

The Totality of Language We are capable of understanding complex ideas because we understand: The idea each word represents The meaning of the relationship between the words (and the ideas they represent) when put together

Continued… Signified Signified Signified Signifier Signifier Signifier

Differences in Language “In language there are only differences” (Saussure) You know the “sun” is sun because it is not “son,” “fun,” or “pun;” you know something is “cold” because you know what “hot” is Each word is unique and is dependent on other words to make it so

Connection to Literature: 1984 Issue: The Party wants to create a society without difference, yet people construct meaning through differences. To solve this issue, Newspeak is created.

Beyond Saussure: I. A. Richards (1893-1979) and Language Expanded the definition of rhetoric beyond persuasion “Rhetoric, I shall urge, should be a study of misunderstanding and its remedies.” because each individual’s experiences are different (unique) His work led us to the modern concept of “close- reading” (understanding how words function).

Continued… “We learn what the word ‘cat’ means by seeing a cat at the same time that we hear the word ‘cat’ and thus a link is formed between the sight and the sound” (Richards 14) Meaning of a word is different for each reader – meaning resides in the reader, context, and experience of a word

Continued… PINE ELM TREE APPLE TREE FIR

Continued… Each sign may be interpreted differently by individuals based on their socio-cultural experience. Richards extends Saussure’s theory: words have different meanings for different people.

Continued… “Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of language derive there-from” (Richards 94). According to Saussure, “in language, one can neither divide sound from thought nor thought from sound” (649).

Connection to 1984 Language depends on differences between individual words and the ways in which we interpret them (based on unique experiences). Language is not black and white, but gray (many minute variations of meaning). Differences between individuals are systematically destroyed in 1984 society: same food, routine, beliefs, etc. Newspeak must be created to destroy the differences in language, and create one that is simply black and white. Good and ungood – all other experiences are not given a signifier, and therefore, have no meaning.

For sale: baby shoes, never worn. For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. Ernest Hemingway?

The Six Word Memoir

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