Meaning In Language Essay Research Paper SP567

Meaning In Language Essay, Research Paper

SP567: Cognitive Neuroscience

‘The Study of Language is really the study of Meaning’, Discuss.

It is generally accepted that language is one of the key attributes that distinguishes humans from other species. Although other animals possess at times very sophisticated methods of communication, none match the cognitive capabilities of human language. The terms communication, speech, language and vocalisation should not be used interchangeably, though in practice, it is not easy to separate and maintain distinctions between them. While communication refers to the general ability to influence other conspecifics via signals, language conveys perceptions, intentions, impressions and actions. Speech is an articulatory manifestation of language . The fact that so much of the human brain is devoted to or involved in language suggests that language lays more than a cummunicatory role , but in fact may be deeply involved in how we model reality. (Jerison 1986) Within the first couple of years of life, not only is a rich and complex vocabulary acquired, but also the complexities of rules of grammar, and subtleties of expression. Language is traditionally a left hemisphere phenomenon, though at present a right hemisphere contribution is increasingly evident. There are four main principles of language that must be acquired for it to be used at the maximum potential.

1. Phonology : or the sounds used in language. Any spoken word may be broken down into its constituent ‘phonemes’. It is defined as the ’smallest unit of speech whose substitution or removal from a word causes a change in the words sound’ (Stuart -Hamilton 1995).This emphasises the relationships between the positions adopted by the articulators and the resulting speech sounds. (Bradshw et al 1995)

2. Syntax : This constitutes the second system that is necessary for language, and are the grammatical rules which govern language. They represent the grammatical rules that combine morphemic (smallest meaningful units constituted of phonemes) strings into uniquely meaningful propositions.

3. Semantics : This is the formal meaning of a string of morphemes in other words, word meaning.

4. Pragmatics : This is an understanding of intent, and typically, social aptness. It is the practical use to which we may put language, such as jokes, irony, metaphor, sarcasm, or context.

The last two systems are concerned with the meaningful interpretation of language and it is these aspects that will be concentrated on in this essay. The human capacity for language is largely innate, even though its actual realisation is highly specific, and reflects the speech of caregivers and experiences at critical developmental milestones. The issue of semantics and meaning within language, like any other issue in psychology, is much debated and has been found to be problematic within syntactic approaches to language. Studies have suggested that an understanding of this issue is based upon the idea that semantic approaches to language are best considered within the broader framework of pragmatics .

All languages are sign systems which have their own distinct meanings. Frawley (1992) defines semiotics as the discipline that studies all meaningful signal exchange, this includes culture as rules for acceptable behaviour, talk, text, the visual media and literature and art as conventionalised aesthetic meaning. In other words, the study of ‘meaning’ in language is the study of a signification process where the essential element is the sign (Frawley 1992). Underlying the psychological theory of meaning is a philosophical theory which is concerned with the analysis and investigation of what things mean in the world. This entails looking at different cultures and assessing the competing accounts or philosophies of how that culture makes sense of things (Forrester 1996). One can assume from this, cognitively speaking that any trend found occurring across all cultures is seen to be innate and universal. The philosophical argument divides the question of meaning to two orientations: the direct and indirect views. The direct view, originating in Socratic and Platonion thought, postulates that knowledge of the world was knowledge of things in the world that do not change. This saw meaning attributed to things as being abstract in form and thus knowledge was divided between opinion and true knowledge. In contemporary terms Katz (1981) asserts that ‘Meaning is a transparent relation between signifier and signified. The signifieds of language (entities, dynamic relations, names) are recoverable from the signifiers (nouns, verbs, sentences).’(p.17)

The indirect approach, also dated back to ancient concepts of the world, was that held by Aristotle, who disagreed with Plato about abstract factors and postulated two orientations:

a) individualist – in which meaning was the information structure mentally encoded by humans, and;

b) Societal – where meaning was the relationship between symbol and referent, with social rules determining how meanings are paired with overt forms.

In light of this, while also bearing in mind the relation between semantics and form and how they must be linked in the act of understanding and speaking, five approaches have been suggested by Frawley (1992) which provide a useful overview:

1. Meanin