What is General Semantics?
When we give meaning, we start with what type of assumptions?
assumptions from our semantic environment
What is the difference between denotative vs. connotative?
denotative = "outside" connotative = "inside"
Concerning words and meaning, the same thing can be named by what?
different words
Define sign.
everything which can be taken as significantly substituting for something else ; anything that can be made to stand for something else
What is this class about in 3 words?
language and meaning
Explain the first type of semantic awareness.
meaning is not in words, meaning is in people
Explain pragmatism.
meaning of words is in their practical effects on human behavior
Concerning words and meaning, the word we uses influences what 2 things? Give an example.
perceptions // attitudes EX: dandelion = garden flower or weed?
Where does semantics come from in the Greek?
sema ; meaning sign ; semantikos ; significant meaning
Semantics is the study of _____ and what they _____.
signs // signify
Semantics is the study of the laws and conditions under which what?
signs and symbols may be said to be meaningful
Define symbol.
the basic unit of all human behavior and civilization
Who is Alfred Korzybski?
the founder of general semantics
Define semiotics.
theory of signs ; study of patterned communication systems
Explain how the photographic effect of language produces "blurring".
there are obscure differences when we use the same word and it can lead to stereotyping and oversimplification
Define semantic environment.
way to gain knowledge from a past
Explain the second type of semantic awareness.
words are not what they refer to ; the word is not the thing
Explain the fifth type of semantic awareness.
words tend to "fix" meaning
Explain the third type of semantic awareness.
words vary in the degree to which they correspond to verifiable referents (referent = actual thing) ; there are varying levels of abstraction (abstract vs. concrete)
Explain the fourth type of semantic awareness.
"direction of meaning" shifts from "outside" to inside" (of us)
What are the 3 components of Hermeneutics?
1) bring forth the meaning of "reading" text ; like biblical interpretation 2) meaning requires interpretation 3) meaning is not defined by the author
When we encounter a situation/object, what 2 things do we try to do?
1) give it meaning 2) match the sense data to patterns from our past
What are 3 other things this class looks into?
1) language and symbols 2) how symbols are the basis of communication 3) how we create meaning
What are the 3 philosophical - critical roots of general semantics?
1) logical positivism 2) pragmatism 3) hermeneutics
Explain the 2 components of the Symbolic Interactionism Theory from the semantic perspective.
1) meaning is not inherent in nature or in an object 2) meaning is varied
Remember the principle of how words are only symbols with no meanings by what 2 components?
1) meanings must be agreed upon 2) meanings are ever-changing
Remember the principle of how a label (word) is a judgment by what 2 components?
1) much language is intended to direct/control the reader's attributes and beliefs 2) words embody opinions about the things they name
What 2 components make up logical positivism?
1) reject referential meaning theory 2) belief that meaning is created by language use
Semantics is a branch of linguistics concerned with what 3 things?
1) symbols and meanings 2) their relationships 3) how people respond to them
What are the 3 branches of semiotics?
1) syntactics (grammar) 2) pragmatics (purpose/effects of language use) 3) semantics (meaning)
What 2 things did Alfred Korzybski develop?
1) the relationship between LANGUAGE, THOUGHT, and BEHAVIOR ; language habits influence our thinking and our behavior 2) awareness of this relationship = "SEMANTIC AWARENESS"
Remember the principle of how a word is only a label by what 2 components?
1) the word is not the thing 2) the word does not restrict the thing
Explain the 2 components of the Coordinated Management of Meaning theory from the semantic perspective.
1) we construct our reality by coordinating meanings with others through interaction or communication 2) persons in conversation co-construct their own social realities and are simultaneously shaped by the words they create as a social construction of reality
What are the 2 reasons why our knowledge of the past affects our present acquisition of knowledge?
1) we focus on different sense data 2) this can lead to distortion
Semantics is the study of the relations between what 2 things?
1) words and things 2) language, thought, & behavior
Remember the principle of how discourse takes place in a context of meaning and connotations by what component and includes what 3 things?
COMPONENT cannot understand the meaning without the context INCLUDES 1) context of what is said before and after 2) context of the whole verbal geography 3) non-verbal