Context & Reference Semantics

Dear reader, this is summarization about a matter in Semantics. And it could help you.

Reference:
- Book: Semantics, Second Edition
- Author: F.R. Palmer
- Chapter: Three
- Title: Context & Reference
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1- Linguistic relativity:
- Part of the difficulty in relating language to the external world may arise from the fact that the way in which we see the world is to some degree depends in the language we use. Since we categorize the objects of our experience with the aid of language, it may be the case that learning about the world and learning about language are activities that cannot be separated and that therefore our world is partly determined by our language.
- In the article, "Science and linguistic", Whorf produces evidence of several kinds for this view.

• First, he suggest that the is no division in reality corresponding to English nouns and verbs.
- For example, lightening, spark and emotion.
• Secondly, Hopi has one word for insects, pilot and plane while Eskimo has four words for snow.

• Thirdly, Whorf argued, their language shows that the Hopi have no notion of tome. The only distinction they make is between what is subjective and what objective.


2- The exclusion of context:
- There are linguists who, explicitly or implicitly, exclude context from the study of semantics. The real reason, no doubt, for this exclusion is that there are extremely great theoretical and practical difficulties and handling context satisfactory.


3- Context of situation:
- the term context of situation is associated with two scholars, first and anthropologist, Malinowski, and later a linguist, Firth.
- Malinowski's arguments were based on his observation of the way in which the language of the people he was studying fitted into their everyday activities.
• And Firth, suggested the following categories:

A: The relevant features of the participants: reasons, personalities:
(i) The verbal action of the participation.
(ii) The non-verbal action of the participation.
B: The Relevant objects.
C: The effects of the verbal action.



4- Behaviorism:
- S -------> r……….s -------> R
- According to Bloomfield, consists in the relation between speech (r……….s) and the practical events (S) and (R) that precede and follow it.

5- Context, culture and style:
- English has the par of verbs come and go. Come is rusticated in a way that go is not, in the indicates direction towards speaker or hearer as in come to me and I'll come to you.
- Another very important aspect of context is that provided by social relations.
- A competent speaker of a language have command of all these different styles. But he will almost certainly have some command also of different kinds of his language that are collectively known as dialects.


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semantics is one of the most vivid subjects of linguistics , for its strong relationship with all varieties of socity

i may come back for more

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my honor sister

God bless ya

thanx a lot