Growing up bilingual meant that not only was I lucky to be cultured in two languages but it also meant that I had an expanded vocabulary with words in Spanish and in English. In elementary, I felt uncomfortable speaking either language around my classmates because they would look at me strange if I spoke Spanish with someone and then weird again if I spoke English and I felt that I had to identify with just one. Once I got into my teenage years I learned that being bilingual was not a disadvantage but an advantage which meant that I would be able to relate to not just one crowd but, two.
This made me realize why I got looked at funny when I was little, they did not know that I was using my second language to express myself to people who spoke the same language. It has helped in more ways than one to help myself and others in situations. Even though sometimes language can be a barrier for some as it is for me, it is quite amusing when I am trying to communicate with someone who does not speak either English or Spanish and we have to use our hands or draw or even point at the menu in my case when I am at work.
I will use referential theory to explain my understanding of language and how important words and meanings are when it comes to communicating as well as include the factors that are involved in the theory. The referential theory by Ogden and Richards states that, “Meaning cannot be understood without recognizing the relationship between words, thoughts, and things” (Heath & Bryant, 2000, p. 99). So if someone says a word that you have no idea what that word means, you are now lost in conversation. Every theory has its criticizers and down falls I trust that this one is one of the realest theories to hold.
Referential theory shows that “as children, we learn that things/phenomena have names. Once we know that, the word can elicit or stimulate us to think about the thing/phenomenon. ” (Lee, J PowerPoint). With that being said, people learn from experiences, especially when little. For example, the textbook uses the word “hot” and relates it to a kid touching a stove, after being told to not touch it. But, since the kid might not have an idea of what the meaning of “hot” actually is, he touches it anyway. After being burnt it triggers a realization and the kid now knows what hot means.
Unfortunately, when they think back on the word, they will have a reference and know to stay away from the obiect that caused pain (Heath & Bryant, 2000, p. 99). Ogden and Richards triangle of meaning connects words to meaning. The three concepts in the triangle are: referent (experience), reference or thought, and finally, symbols or words. (Heath & Bryant, 2000, p. 99) Referent is the stimuli in which you see, hear, feel, etc. experience is the symbol/word. Reference or thought is what you feel afterwards. Lastly, the symbol/word is what is understood out of the first two concepts.
This then results to the same word having an altered meaning to each person, while still holding its core. Language is always changing just like everything around us, cars, buildings, architecture, and style. Yet still they are essentially the same thing. Words have meaning from the experiences we have with the symbol the word represents. Some critics might say that if everyone forms meaning of words through their own experiences, it is practically impossible for everyone to have the same experience. Yet, having a different meaning for the word does not suggest that in essence you do not know what it is.
For example, a person who has met a dog knows what a dog is regardless the associations it will make with it. Me, I cannot be around a Chihuahua no matter how cute someone thinks it is. I had a bad experience once when it attacked my nose and now all I have is bad memories and experience from Chihuahuas. But someone else might have grown up with nothing but Chihuahuas so they just think good things and happy thoughts because they had good memories with them. Yet, there are some things that mostly everyone will have the same experiences with they just might be a little altered.
The meaning of a word is always changing and evolving. The more one interacts with others and learns new things the more we learn about cultures and such. New languages, culture, growing up, all these things make words and the meaning of these words change. According to Ogden and Richards “A word is correct if it produces the same reference in the receiver as in the sender, often referred to as isomorphism” (Heath & Bryant, 2000, p. 100). Isomorphism believes that within the group of people that speak the same language or dialect if a word holds true for both the sender and receiver, then that word is being used correctly.
For example, as kids we scrunch our noses when we hear a word because we think it does not go with what is being talked about. It is just that, that word might be adult talk and may make sense to the adults and therefore does not draw the same conclusions. To the adult, that word has perfect meaning based on their experiences. Through time words change drastically. Technology is a big factor in this because it has created various new words with different meanings then they may have originally had. “Shared experiences lead to shared meaning once words are assigned to the experiences…
Words can be used to elicit thoughts because other people have similar experiences” (Lee, PowerPoint). A word such as “bad” meant a negative meaning like “oh that looks so bad on you do not wear it”. However, Social media has changed the meaning of the word to complimenting someone in the sense of” wow girl you look bad” or ” you a baddie” this meaning is a positive way in saying someone looks drop dead basically. If you had not had the experience of social media and someone said that someone looked bad, you would assume that it was an actual negative comment and would not have the same meaning.
Effective communication with others is where the Triangle of Meaning connects and overlaps. People can communicate only to the extent that they share experience. Having the same referent or experience leading to the same thought and therefore, the same symbol creates a more clear communication for both parties. One of the key critics of the referential theory is that “Many words have no actual reference” (Lee, Power Point). Words that connect words such as: a, or, the, of, etc. However these are words that just combine thoughts. Those aren’t experiences or symbols.
They are simply fillers. Without these words language wouldn’t make any sense. These words are universally known and in any language their meaning remains the same. It is not based upon experiences, it is set for everyone to connect sentences and thoughts. Theories are based on whether they are good or bad through the criteria for sound theories. The eight components of which are that the theory explains, predicts, assists efforts to control, useful, parsimonious, internally consistent, capable of being falsified, and addresses ethical challenges.
The referential theory hits every single point making it a good and successful sound theory. It explains why we learn the meaning of words the way we do and how it can mend or shape our conversations. It predicts just that with their triangle of meaning how meaning come from referents. It is useful for us to know more about how we communicate with others and how we do that as well overlaps with better assisting the effort to control the way we communicate and learn about communication. The theory is always consistent because it keeps following the same outline to explain each word.
However, like I mentioned above, the theory can be made falsified by the words that don’t have any specific meaning. People are always going to criticize theories. What matters is what makes them valid and if the theory can prove it otherwise. While the criticism of certain “connecting” words not having meaning and therefore falsifying the entire theory, the important part is that the theory has a lot of other information to back its concept.
The book says, “This theory had-and continues to have a large following because it is so intuitively logical” (Heath & Bryant, 2000, p. 01) this theory is one of the most effective and useful theories known because it is such a relevant concept for so many people. Meaning of words come from our interactions, one cannot participate in the triangle of meaning effectively if it does not understand it. That is why always being interested in other languages and cultures is so important because you learn so many new meanings to words you did not know existed. Always be ready to take in new experiences and adventures.
