What I mean by "meaning".

Question

What's your definition of the word "meaning"? A lot of posters here seem to use it in expressions" such as this:

"To me, there is no difference in meaning between those two sentences/expressions/words, etc."

I would like to ask all here to state their reasons for using the word "meaning" in reference to language use.

Thanks for any light you can shed.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Well, perhaps this is a more general question than the one I posed in the thread "Modality and meaning" it is important to get this basic question sorted. I don't think it is as simple as it appears.

The study of meaning is known as semantics, and there seems to be a lot of literature on it yet most does not seem to address the basic question of just what meaning is.

To me, meaning is anything that can be fitted into the sentence:
x means y.

The problem with this is that not everything we communicate can be defined in this way. Particularly modal verbs.

Milky · Answer

AnonymousThe study of meaning is known as semantics, and there seems to be a lot of literature on it yet most does not seem to address the basic question of just what meaning is.

To me, meaning is anything that can be fitted into the sentence:
x means y.

How about pragmatic meaning? Shouldn't we also take that into consideration?

And syntactic meaning?

Anonymous · Answer

Pragmatics is very big in semantics. But there's the rub. Nothing in meaning of the individual words is going to explain a highly idiomatic or phatic expression. At the end of the day, if you want precision, you need to define how you have defined the object of study in addition to simply defining it.

Milky · Answer

< Nothing in meaning of the individual words is going to explain a highly idiomatic or phatic expression.>

Indeed not. One has to look elsewhere for such explanations.

CalifJim · Answer

"Meaning is use" - Wittgenstein.

This slogan makes the most sense to me. I know that in reading in a foreign language I am quite often able to deduce the meaning of a word by the way it is used in the context of the story, the paragraph, the sentence, the phrase in which it is located. The meanings of longer units, expressions, idioms, can be understood in similar ways, by repeated exposure to their many uses in various contexts. It is for this reason that I am more likely to give examples than explanations as answers to some kinds of questions.

CJ

Milky · Answer

But how would a student work out the meaning of the word failure in this exchange?

Two friends chatting in a bar just after friend A has received a first in his honours degree.

A: Phew! At last. It's all over. Cheers!

B: Yeah, cheers. What a failure you turned out to be, eh?

A: Yeah, right.

CalifJim · Answer

Good question. I don't suppose there is any way a student could work out the meaning of failure in that case. Not every instance of a usage gives an equal amount of information about the meanings of words. It is the accumulation of many uses which helps the student triangulate on the meaning. The student is never spared having to negotiate the mine-field of contradictions that are virtually guaranteed to occur. This case is interesting because it depends on the student's knowing at least two things: the meaning of failure in more 'canonical' contexts, and a bit of human psychology -- how people sometimes behave (linguistically) in the sort of situation presented. (But I'm repeating what you already know.)

The implication for teaching? Obviously, when "training the machine", one doesn't present only the negative examples and then expect accurate predictions when the machine is placed in test mode.*

CJ

*I just finished a course on machine learning and the lingo is still reverberating through my mind.

Milky · Answer

<This case is interesting because it depends on the student's knowing at least two things: the meaning of failure in more 'canonical' contexts, and a bit of human psychology -- how people sometimes behave (linguistically) in the sort of situation presented. (But I'm repeating what you already know.)>

That's right. I've long had discussion of the same nature.

<The implication for teaching? Obviously, when "training the machine", one doesn't present only the negative examples and then expect accurate predictions when the machine is placed in test mode.*>

Some have suggested teaching pragmatic meaning in ESL classrooms. I think it could be a good idea to do so with younger people, i.e. those who have not yet a solid grasp on pragmatic use in their own language, but with adults, it may not be necessary. We could just point out that "trial", in the above (taking just one example) is being used ironically. Stll, I think all student should know that their are three possible ways to talk about meaning when discussing language. They should be taught the meaning of syntactic, semantic and pragmatic meaning - even if it is not using those words. Teachers should fine a way to communicate those ideas and stop using the word "meaning" as if it were clear to all.

Nooraleman · Answer

Thank you for the explanation....

I'm new here...And I'm studying Linguistics ....My major is English.....

But I'm Arabian,and need some help to improve my vocabulary and my grammar...Could anyone help me,Pleeeeeease...?

What I mean by "meaning".

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