Symbols and Referents

A symbol is something used for or regarded as repre­senting something else. Thus the image of a lion can serve as a symbol of courage, a red and white striped pole as a symbol of a barber shop. In English the word "sun" is the verbal symbol used to designate the star that is the central body of our solar system; the French use another symbol, "soleil"; and the Germans a third, "Sonne." All three symbols represent the same star.

Consider the term "floppy disk." "Floppy disk" is the name given to the flexible, round magnetic recording medium or storage device. The term is arbitrary. It was assigned to the recording so that we could communicate about it without pointing each time we referred to it. "Floppy disk" might have been called "soft record" or "bank" or even "urg." So initially no real association exists between a word we agree to call something and its referent,the object for which it stands. Clearly, the word is not the thing. A word is merely a verbal symbol of the object it represents. Such words as "teletext," "modem," "digital information system," and "electronic mail" are but a few of those that have entered our language as a result of the new communication technologies.

Once we agree on a system of verbal symbols, we can use language to communicate. Of course if all the words we used referred only to objects, our communication problems would be eased considerably. We could establish what referents we were speaking about with somewhat less difficulty. But words also refer to events, properties of things, actions, relationships, concepts, and so on. Take the words "white lie." Suppose one of your friends tells you something that is not true and you find out and confront her with your knowledge. Although she explains that it was just a "white lie," you may consider her action a form of "deception"—it's even possible that an argument will ensue. And if you can't reach agreement on relatively simple terms, what about terms that represent higher levels of abstraction? What are the referents of such terms as "ethics," "freedom," and "responsibility"? In a speech on the enemies of responsible communication, Redding elaborated on the word "responsible":

"Responsible" is frequently used as a code-word for such attributes as "compliant," "safe," or "docile." I've heard corporate executives, for example, speak of "responsible" labor leaders, by which they mean docile union officials. Whenever we hear calls for "responsible criticism," we should look carefully for what may be lurking behind that God-term "responsible." …Just as "responsible" and "compliant" are not synonyms, so also "responsible" and "moral" (or "unethical") are not true synonyms. To be sure, no immoral or unethical communicator could be at the same time a responsible communi­cator. In other words, morality is a necessary but not a sufficient predictor of responsibility. (Redding, 1988, p. 702)

The relationship between meaning and reference becomes especially clear when we encounter words in a foreign language. If we see MИP, the Russian word for "peace" and "world," for the first time, we have no way of determining what concepts that word represents simply by looking at the word itself. Even with new words in our own language, we have to learn what concepts they represent. Notice how we carefully avoided saying, "what the words mean." Meanings are not inherent in words. Words in and of themselves are meaningful only after we have associated them with some referents. It is human beings who assign meanings to words.

Denotation and Connotation

In discussing meaning, some students of language make the traditional distinction between "denotation" and "connotation." We have said that words are meaningful only after we have associated them with some referents. When we speak of denotation,we refer to the primary associations a word has for most members of a given linguistic community. When we speak of connotation,we refer to other, secondary associations a word has for one or more members of that community. Sometimes the connotations a word has are the same for nearly everyone; sometimes they relate solely to one individual's experience or, more often, to the experience of a particular subgroup.

The connotations of words are often the occasion for disagreement and misunderstanding. Just a few years ago it was common to hear AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, referred to even in the media as a "plague" of sorts. In spite of the popularity of this usage, there were many objections. For example, writer Susan Sontag (1989) argued that the word "plague" was not only inappropriate but had many moralistic connotations—historically, plague has often been associated with a punishment for sin. Thus in one dictionary the first definition of "plague" is "an epidemic disease of high mortality; pestilence," but the sixth definition has a theological cast: "to smite with a plague, pestilence, death, etc.; scourge: those whom the gods had plagued."

Changing social mores have also demanded many changes in how we use language. The word "gay," traditionally a synonym for "happy" or "cheerful," is increasingly used as a synonym for "homosexual." For example, "gay rights" is a familiar term not only in popular conversation but in the media as well. In fact, "homosexual" has become one of the denotations of the word "gay." Similarly, when we say that two people "live together" the connotation is often—though not always—that they have a sexual relationship. One has to interpret from context. Terms to refer to people who live together as an unmarried couple have proliferated—and the terms vary in their connotation:

How to handle the linguistic problem of what to call the person with whom one's daughter lives? "Lover" is too archaically lubricious by a shade or two. "Roommate" sounds like a freshman dorm. "Bedmate" is too sexually specific, but "friend" is too sweetly platonic. "Boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are a bit adolescent. "Partner" sounds as if they run a hardware store together. The Census Bureau calls "Partners of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters" or PossLQs. Mrs. Billie Jenkins, an elegant hostess who lives on Boston's Beacon Hill, has developed a rather sweet technique for inviting living-together couples to her parties. "I send an invitation to the one of the two I know better," says Mrs. Jenkins, "and I write a personal note on it saying, 'Of course you'll bring your darling George!' " (Time, November 27, 1978, p. 76)

One friend of ours coined the term "house mate" for his female live-in friend. This caused a misunderstanding, since we thought he said "housemaid."

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 950