Posts (page 2)
Since in chapter 12 we are talking about abnormal word pairs I wanted to talk in depth more about propositional meaning. Propsositional and Non propositional is categorized within semantic clash, but I wanted to look at what exactly classifies words as proposotional or non. Just like any other linguistic term, I believe there are shades of gray. I was researching the terms online and everything seems to refer to propositional words as something with truth value. Non propisitional refers to more abstract ideas. However, I do not fully agree with these meanings. I feel it is possible for a word to hold both properties. For example, "The house is big" Of course this is an abstract idea because what does "big" actually mean here. However, there must be some truth value... the house cannot be as small as a dog house perhaps. To most, when saying "The house is big", it is easy to interpret that the house is bigger than a normal size. Just a thought. I love arguing all these concepts because in linguistics it is actually allowed!
I find the subject of synonyms to be very interesting because we all have our own interpretations of what a word means. In class I was confident enough to say that I thought sofa and couch were absolute synonyms. I now know that it is very hard to classify absolute synonyms. Even in substitution within news or television shows, the use of synonomy is ambiguous. For example: Neat and Clean. I would consider these near synonom's. Neat has a more "organized" meaning as "clean" has a more "water & soap" meaning. I was watching Trading Spaces on TLC and I caught the host using a substitution error for these words! She was using the word "clean" in regards to the space and orgaization of a room... not the fact that it was clean or "fresh" (although it was indeed that too). I happened to catch it because of our class discussion. It wasnt a huge error, but it definately wasnt the best word choice for her!
Today's lecture was very interesting to me, because we are faced with these language choices everyday. I thought of a couple more examples for antonymy of what I thought was polar, equipollent, and overlapping. Do you guys agree?
Polar: The mattress was hard/soft.
Equipollent: The glass was empty/full.
Overlapping: The house was dirty/clean.
The Cadillac commercial today in class was such a great example of a pun. I liked it so much I tried to find more commercials. I was unsuccessful, however I did find a website (www.punoftheday.com) that listed quite a few. Here are just a few that I liked the best:
The cosmetic student was sick on the day of the final exam. Now she has to take a Make Up exam.
The overweight fighter pilot was grounded for violating the rules of engorgement.
A man brought his retriever to the vet for some tests and had to pay a lab fee.
If you write bad things about me I am libel to sue you.
Trust your calculator. It's something to count on.
Those were my favorites. If you think about it, we use puns everyday! Since taking linguistic classes, I have recently noticed it much more.
Well, obviously my blog group had a little trouble in class today with a prototype "dessert". We all know cake is a dessert, along with milkshake, pie, cookies, etc. However Karen brought up a great point about some people eating fruit as a dessert. I don't recall ever eating fruit as a dessert. My point is that we all have our own ideas about prototypes in contexts and that is what makes linguistics so interesting. There is no "right" answer at times. So does has anyone else eaten fruit as a dessert?
In our language, it is inevitable to come across ambiguity. If you pay attention, you will find it almost everywhere. This is because words donate several meanings, especially in the order and tense we use them. I was just researching some ambiguous statements that are used in everyday sentences and I came across a Surgeon General's warning on a pack of cigarettes that states...
"Quitting smoking now greatly reduces your risk of cancer."
If you take a look at this statement it can mean that for if you stop smoking NOW then it will reduce your risk of cancer. But what if you stopped smoking before now? Will that reduce your chances? Just thought it was funny how companies choose to word things.
I was researching some common cliche's online and one was showing up on most websites. For my situation this semester, this particular one is a great cliche... however I just wonder if someone made it up just to give false hope to a person of my circumstances?
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
We have all heard it, and most of us have probably said to family or friends in time of sorrow. My boyfriend is gone to Florida this semester and I have stopped counting the number of times people tell me this cliche. It is true in some situations where being away from someone does make the heart grow fonder, but it also usually causes many problems in relationships. So the point I am trying to make is that it makes me wonder where cliches even came from. Are they just phrases people use because they have nothing else to say? Or maybe they use them just to make other people feel better. Half the time cliche's arent even truthful, so why do we use them so often?
-George Eliot
I found this quote online. It ties in with many things we have been talking about. For one, this quote can mean many things to different people. It also deals with paradoxes. To me, I feel this quote speaks some truth about the way we use language. Sometimes we say things that may contradict just to disguise one's true feelings or actions. Also, I feel this quote is saying "be careful, because the more you use these paradoxes, the more you may jinx yourself and end up being the paradox itself!"
Just a thought?
For those of you who have seen the movie, "The Breakup", remember the part when she wanted "12 lemons but Vince Voughn only bought her "3" lemons. Well for those of you who havnt seen the movie, this is a crucial part in the movie. They begin to fight and the scene is truly hilarious. He doesnt understand why she needed 12 lemons. To her defense, she claims she was planning on making a table arrangement that night for some guests. He just doesnt understand that when she wanted 12 lemons, she truly needed 12. He says that lemons are lemons and there is no reason someone needs a whole dozen! I can see his point here, but the point I am making is that meaning of numbers and figures has different implications for different people. They each had their own ideas of what the lemons were for. Since he didnt know her intentions for them... they break up!
My name is Charity and I am a senior majoring in Communications at the University of Kentucky. I joined this site for my Linguistics class. I love meeting new people and exploring others' thoughts and idea's.
