Drawing rings around the world - The acquisition of meaning

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book Drawing rings around the world - The acquisition of meaning by Daniel Daimler, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Daniel Daimler ISBN: 9783638188906
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: April 30, 2003
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Daniel Daimler
ISBN: 9783638188906
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: April 30, 2003
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Marburg (Institute for English Language Science), course: SE Psycholinguistics, 22 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This is the implication of the anthropic principle: a universe, that allows human existence can only be observed and conceptualised - linguistically structured, for our purpose - by human beings due to the constraints set by the internal structure of the universe. This is, any theory about the world and about the phenomena it consists of has to take into account that the available data possibly reflects only a sample of the topic to be theorised. Absolute objectivity is a myth. Theories should be regarded as points of view, in its very sense. The fictional GOLEM XIV, artificial anthropologist at the MIT of the year 2029, encounters the problem from an opposite perspective: he knows well about man and the thematic role, man holds in universe. But he is not able to communicate about his knowledge without cutting down on his actual message because natural language does not provide the concepts required. From this point of view, the study of semantic acquisition becomes a methodological one. When communicating linguistically about the world we live in and act on, how do we know that our words - those Saussurian signs with a concept on one side and an arbitrary form on another - actually cover the intended objects and ideas in their entirety? At least, the question is worth to be asked. Bloom (2001) extends the question to at least two specifications. First, when discussing Williard Quine´s gavagai problem (describing the get-together of a linguist, a native speaker of some unexplored language, and a rabbit, at whose turn up the native utters the word gavagai), Bloom concludes that 'there is an infinity of logically possible meanings for gavagai.' (Bloom 2001:3). The utterance could refer to any component of this situation, the properties of the rabbit itself, such as its biological categorisation, its colour, texture, or acoustic appearance. Gavagai could even refer to the very spatio-temporal characteristics of the moment itself, to 'time slices of rabbits', as Bloom puts it.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0 (A), University of Marburg (Institute for English Language Science), course: SE Psycholinguistics, 22 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This is the implication of the anthropic principle: a universe, that allows human existence can only be observed and conceptualised - linguistically structured, for our purpose - by human beings due to the constraints set by the internal structure of the universe. This is, any theory about the world and about the phenomena it consists of has to take into account that the available data possibly reflects only a sample of the topic to be theorised. Absolute objectivity is a myth. Theories should be regarded as points of view, in its very sense. The fictional GOLEM XIV, artificial anthropologist at the MIT of the year 2029, encounters the problem from an opposite perspective: he knows well about man and the thematic role, man holds in universe. But he is not able to communicate about his knowledge without cutting down on his actual message because natural language does not provide the concepts required. From this point of view, the study of semantic acquisition becomes a methodological one. When communicating linguistically about the world we live in and act on, how do we know that our words - those Saussurian signs with a concept on one side and an arbitrary form on another - actually cover the intended objects and ideas in their entirety? At least, the question is worth to be asked. Bloom (2001) extends the question to at least two specifications. First, when discussing Williard Quine´s gavagai problem (describing the get-together of a linguist, a native speaker of some unexplored language, and a rabbit, at whose turn up the native utters the word gavagai), Bloom concludes that 'there is an infinity of logically possible meanings for gavagai.' (Bloom 2001:3). The utterance could refer to any component of this situation, the properties of the rabbit itself, such as its biological categorisation, its colour, texture, or acoustic appearance. Gavagai could even refer to the very spatio-temporal characteristics of the moment itself, to 'time slices of rabbits', as Bloom puts it.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Moral Stage - A literature overview by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Mr. Pooter and Victorians by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Slavery in North America and the West Indies: An Attempt of Comparison by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Eliten im Wandel? - Eine Untersuchung anhand der wirtschaftlichen Elite in der Schweiz by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Unterrichtsstunde: Die Marktform des Oligopols by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book The Significance of Eating and the Feast in Homer's 'Odyssey' by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Konzeptionelle Entwicklung eines Kennzahlenpools für ein Einzelhandelsunternehmen mittels der SAP Business Information Warehouse Technologie by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book The Foreign Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Report on the Dutch economy by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Keys to success in multi-cultural project work by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Muriel Spark's Jean Brodie by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book The Procter & Gamble Acquisition of Gillette by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book 'Why Can´t You and Your Brother Be More Like Other People?': Amanda´s Way of Dealing with Her Loneliness and Its Effects on Laura by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book The Role Of Sexuality in Tennessee Williams´ 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Daniel Daimler
Cover of the book Utilitarianism in Victorian England (with a special emphasis on Bentham and Mill) by Daniel Daimler
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy