for example, if someone says the word, "mountain goat"- does the sound that comes out of their mouth and moves your eardrums really represent "mountain goatness" or just an association of what your nervous system considers "mountain goatness"?
2006-07-23 09:23:22 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
There is nothing intrinsicly mountain goaty about the words 'mountain goat', so I would say it's just an association. Another language could use entirely different words but the association would be the same (or very similar).
2006-07-23 09:31:28 · answer #1 · answered by Nerdly Stud 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Neither.
The word is an arbitrary arrangement of sounds that is interpreted by the mind as refereing to the concept in question.
But the concept is not identical from person to person. For some people, of course, "mountain goat" means nothing (if they have not seen a mountain, or a goat before); in others it might create associations of terror (for example, if they were menaced by a rabid mountain goat when they were an infant) that it does not have for others.
2006-07-23 16:31:13 · answer #2 · answered by P. M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It represents what your learned schema's believe to be a mountain goat. If your parents raised you thinking that the word for cat was mountain goat then when you heard the word mountain goat you would think of a cat. Words only have power because we give them power.
2006-07-23 16:27:04 · answer #3 · answered by daredevilninja 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your Auditory System is used to process the sounds you hear. Basically, the ear picks up the sound and transmits it to the brain. The brain associates it with a given meaning which can vary depending on how much information the brain has stored related to the sound, combined with the environment in which the sound is heard.
2006-07-23 16:31:43 · answer #4 · answered by Dale P 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two steps to understanding.
1- Expression by the speaker.
2- Interpretation by the listener.
The result is a sum of the two divided by two.
2006-07-23 16:30:50 · answer #5 · answered by iikozen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it's called symbolic reasoning.
2006-07-23 16:28:45 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it can-some people have a way with words that make you get lost in them-old hippie here
2006-07-23 16:32:35 · answer #7 · answered by bergice 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋