Making Meaning- English Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Making Meaning- English Language - Essay Example ognitive approaches are more apposite to trace the crucial but slight changes in the notions of a word and therefore, all-embracing to encapsulate maximum circumference of the meaning. Cognitive approaches always consider a language as a living object that ultimately yields relative meaning in relation to its environments and context. Therefore semantic interpretation is to be explained from the reality of an object and how â€Å"the human brain processes the information it receives by using a series of very specific cognitive mechanisms† (Jaen 2). Indeed there have been many studies and theories on Semantics or the study of the meaning of words and structures. The concept of the ‘signifier’ and the ‘signified’ forms the basis of the derivation of meaning for each words or structures. The fact that a single signifier can have one or many signified adds to the complexity of the process of meaning derivation. Some studies have proved that there is a clo se relation between the sound pattern and the linguistic pattern of a given word or structure. There are linguists who argue that the meaning of a word is closely related to the perception level or the cognitive level of understanding and experiences of the hearer. The prototype theory holds that the process of attributing meaning to a given word or structure is â€Å"principled and depends on the ‘real world attributes’ of what is perceived, and also upon the characteristics of the perceptual apparatus itself† (Johnson 12). One needs to differentiate and contrast the attributes of the perceived images with the other images to make this process of meaning derivation. In fact, the prototypes (‘the most representative members of a category’) is linked with the cultural models that shape one’s perceptions and knowledge representation and therefore each perceived image or experience â€Å"serve as prototypes for understanding real-world experiences† (Holland and Quinn 22). The authors hold that there is a