"When we speak of the value of a word, we generally think first of its property of standing for an idea, and this is in fact one side of linguistic value. But if this is true, how does value differ from signification?" (p. 7)
I decided to write about this passage because it was the one that confused me and I felt that if I did write about it, I would understand it a little more.
This passage discusses the signified and the signifier. When we speak a word we first picture sign attached to the meaning of the word (the visual aspect) and then we think if the meaning of the word fits in what we are trying to say to another person [the linguistic value (7)]. When I read this article I tried to understand it by thinking of everyday things - such as dollar bills, pictures, road signs, etc. First I thought of a word, then I thought of its linguistic meaning or definition. Finally I put an image that best described the meaning.
In the reading there was a diagram (on page 7) that explained all of this and even though I have learned what the difference between the signified and the signifier is I sometimes still get confused. This diagram confused me somewhat. It showed that when we speak a word we are, at first, only concerned with the sound-image idea (7) and eventually we start to processes the entire meaning of the word or the signification. That is what I thought this passage was discussing but if I am wrong feel free to correct me.
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1 comment:
Don't worry! We told you from day one that these readings were going to be tough so don't panic about not fully understanding it. It's good of you to explore the quote that made less sense to you since you seem to hit on a couple good ideas on what language is made up of. As the class goes on and the more you are exposed to readings like this you will be better equipped with how to understand and approach them. In the meantime try and see the comparisons between this class and other CMC classes, it might help.
Smiley Face :)
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