Meaning and Development from a Cultural Perspective - Essay Example

Reg No. E35/3637/14

Lecturer: Dr. Atoo

The Relationship between Meaning and Development from a Cultural Perspective

Introduction

While it may seem that semantic development is perceived to be of less attention than phonology and grammar, there are overt tenets of language to be considered. Meaning emanates from how form is used with the extralinguistic world of objects, ideas, and experiences. Variations in terms of culture affect not only the number of words but also the content and structure of the developing lexicon. Whereas language is deemed as a cultural reflection, culture is the inference of a language. Every language with decades of history and the cultural implication is as a result of ethnic, cultural development. Like every state with its specific social, religious, beliefs, and traditions, every language has words particular to a particular culture to mirror various concepts, things, and objects. This thesis discusses the relationship between meaning and development from a cultural perspective. The paper will first examine the semantic development in history, and analyze the

Development of Semantics in History

In the linguistic field, semantics is the study of meaning, while in the logic sense, it is regarded as the study of linguistic reference and truth conditions in languages. The semantics analysis relates to the expressions composed of words, phrases, and sentences that hold more attention than the words making them up. Meaning is an overt topic as far as humanity is concerned. Great philosophers such as Plato have discussed semantic meaning in their works. In the 1960s, semantics was regarded as too mentalistic (Wierzbicka, 1992). In 1963, Fodor and Kartz reaffirmed the place of semantics in the structure of a semantic theory. They opined that semantic should be part and parcel of Grammar as syntax and phonology. Grammar gives the linguistic competence of speakers of a language. As a result, the description of meaning is a primary tenet of the description of the linguistic competence of the speaker of a language. Besides, linguistic is regarded as a communication system. However, communication can only be achieved when words possess meaning. Therefore in order to characterize language, then it is vital to describe meaning and development. In essence, if grammar describes language, then part of grammar ought to describe meaning implicating that grammar should encompass semantics.

Semantics is closely related to representation and denotation. For instance, when reading narratives, readers have expectations associated with the overt themes of the story. There are three fundamental concerns in the semantic field. The first one is the word relations to the denoted objects. The second is the interpretational meaning, where the words relate to symbolic logic. Then there are the formal relations of signs to each other, and that is syntax. Since semantic studies meaning, it's essential to examine the association existing between meanings of words, phrases, and sentences.

Meaning and Development from a cultural perspective

Culture is a system of values, beliefs, and norms in a society. It encompasses ethnic background, gender, sexual orientation, race, and religion, among other things. The knowledge of a culture is essential in attaining proficiency in a language. This is because language is generated to represent the concepts and ideas dependent on various cultural elements. Expansion in a language corresponds to changes in culture. Language, as a symbol of communication, is flexible. In this sense, the meaning and development of words can also change to new symbolism (Wierzbicka, 2003).

Example 1:

• The word "Nice" in Modern English carries meanings such as kind, pleasing, and good as compared to the 15th century meaning of “foolish” and “wicked."

The example demonstrates how meaning and development changes with a change in culture. In Old English form, the word was developed to hold completely different meaning compared to modern English meaning. The associative meaning is closely linked to culture. One can easily understand the conceptual meaning in verbal talk but fail to comprehend the conveyed cultural information due to differences existing in culture. Importantly, one ought to understand the cultural characteristics and express the language and cultural information concealed in words.

Meaning is more than denotation and connotation and also depends on associations or relational aspects of the words. Aside from having meanings, lexemes contribute meaning to the utterances in which they take place. Accordingly, this meaning is reflective of the culture in which the words are used. To demystify sense relation from a cultural perspective, it is essential to look at the various forms of sense relations. The first significant form is synonymy implicating sameness of meaning. Words from multiple cultures can hold similar meaning though not identical. English contains a variety of synonyms majorly originating from Anglo-Saxon words regarded as native words and Latin, French, and Greek words referred to as borrowed words.

Example 2:

• Fall and autumn are synonyms though the cultural setting in which they are used is different. “fall" is used within the American culture, whereas the British people use "autumn."

This is similar to polysemic words that possess different meanings across cultures. Cultural elements in the semantic extension of polysemic words have high relevance in culture and society. The roots of the vocabularies assist in tracing the development of various terms. Many polysemic words' meanings reflect the cultural process. Over time, the words change in meaning in relation to social, political, and economic needs.

Example 3:

• In Chinese Mandarin, the word "chūn” has four different meanings. These are (1) Spring, (2) Year, (3) life, and (4) love.

Ali Mazuri, a linguist, examined the associative meaning and development of color black in English and Chinese speaking cultures (Wierzbicka, 1994). Based on his studies, black in these cultures is associated with negative traits, for instance, calamity and misfortune.

This example brings out the associated meaning in a cultural perspective.

Contextually some words may contain meanings that have no equivalent in other languages. However, in their original sound, they might borrow vocabularies from other languages.

Euphemism and taboo words are a clear illustration of the relationship between meaning and development in cultural perspectives. These words are developed in various cultures to convey information respectfully per society's mores. However, the associated meaning of euphemism and taboo words might vary depending on the culture. In other words, what is taboo in one culture may be acceptable in another culture, and a word may be considered euphemistic in a particular culture. In contrast, another culture may see the use of that word as a taboo.

Examples 4:

• The Euphemistic phrase “she is expecting” developed in most modern societies. The speaker’s meaning in this society is that “she is pregnant." However, semantically this phrase conveys different meanings to another culture, such as "waiting or anticipating for something."

Conclusion

In conclusion, this paper has attempted to examine the relationship between meaning and development from a cultural perspective. While it may seem that semantic development is perceived to be of less attention than phonology and grammar, there are overt tenets of language to be considered. Meaning emanates from how form is used with the extralinguistic world of objects, ideas, and experiences. Variations in terms of culture not only affects the number of words but also the content and structure of the developing lexicon. Language, as a symbol of communication, is flexible. In this sense, the meaning and development of words can also change to come up with new symbolism (Wierzbicka, 2003). Aside from having implications, lexemes contribute meaning to the utterances in which they take place. Accordingly, this meaning is reflective of the culture in which the words are used. Contextually some words may contain meanings that have no equivalent in other languages. However, in their original sound, they might borrow vocabularies from other languages.