Semantics Theories
*I believe art is feeling. It is the manifestation of who we are as feeling human beings in reaction to the feeling or unfeeling acts of other humans, the natural world, and the unnatural world. We create art because we need to react; react in anger, react in fear, react in love, adoration, peace, joy, healing, puzzlement, and complexity. Thus the core of art is social change. Social change is as simple as effecting one small aspect of our human society. I believe social change need not be radical, political transformation or protests against a repressive establishment. It can be as simple as invoking a one-word question or phrase in a person's mind: Why? When? What? How? Really? Interesting. Curious. Difficult. I believe inspiring these small thoughts should be the goal of social change as well as the goal of art.* *It's TCA once again let's turn up for this guy's ...let's do it once again we need to embark on this and vote in well and able leaders*
SEMANTICS THEORIES
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INTRODUCTION
Semantics is the science that studies the meaning of words and sentences. Explain the relationship between verbal forms and non-verbal concepts and how native speakers understand sentences using mental representations. In language, semantics is the study of meaning and how meaning is conveyed in words, phrases, sentences, and other units of language. Examine the relationships between language and the concepts, ideas, and objects it represents. Semantics focuses on understanding the meaning of individual words, the meaning of phrases, and interpreting complete sentences or utterances. Linguistic semantics is defined as the study of how languages construct and express meaning. Semantics is important for understanding how language conveys meaning and how meaning is interpreted by speakers and listeners. It helps explain the subtleties of language use, such as figurative language, metaphor, irony, and ambiguity. Semantics also plays an important role in natural language processing (NLP), as it is used in tasks such as machine translation, information retrieval, and question answering systems. The science of semantics develops from antiquity to modern times, giving it a historical picture. Therefore, we can focus on three main semantic theories, including behavioral semantics, structural semantics, and generative semantics.
BEHAVIORIST SEMANTICS
Behavioral semantics is semantics that comes from the behaviorist school of psychology. It focuses on the relationship between language and observed behavior and focuses on external aspects of language use rather than internal mental processes. Skinner, (1957) argues the external environment is considered the primary stimulus for any human expression. Stimulus-response scenarios are synonymous with causality in many natural situations. Katz and Fodor (1963), who are proponents of the behavioral approach to semantics argue that language, as an aspect of human well-being, can aid research by reducing meaning to what is observed. They also argue that meaning works through reinforcement. This theory emphasizes nurture rather than nature. Thus, the physical environment is perceived to influence meaning rather than internal thought processes. Behaviorism tends to emphasize experimental explanations, but has been criticized for rejecting introspection, concepts, and ideas (Lakoff, 1965). Not everything in language can be physically perceived. Overreliance on reinforcement tends to make animal and human behavior identical.
Behavioral semantics holds that language learning involves the formation of associations between verbal stimuli (words, sentences) and behavioral responses. These associations are formed through conditioning, linking specific stimuli to specific responses through repeated exposure and reinforcement. Fillmore (2010), on behavioral semantics emphasizes the importance of giving operational definitions to linguistic words and terms. Operational definitions refer to observable actions or reactions that determine the meaning of words. For example, the meaning of "anxiety" can be operationalized in terms of physiological responses such as increased heart rate, sweating, or avoidance. Behavioral semantics has a lot to do with the verifiability and objectivity of meaning. Saussure (2011), suggests that meaning should be based on observable and measurable behavior, not on subjective mental states or internal representations. This emphasis reflects behaviorism's rejection of mentalism and its orientation toward external, observable phenomena.
From a behaviorist perspective, language is seen primarily as an instrumental tool for communication and behavior control. It is seen as a means of eliciting a specific response from others or as a means of shaping and controlling one's own behavior. Osgood (1952), asserts that th
