I have always found myself fascinated with words and the way people string them together. Whether it is poetry, a song, an essay, or a novel I always find myself engrossed with the obvious and hidden meanings of the words. One simple word can mean so many different things to so many different people. In one person it may produce thoughts of happiness and love, while in another it manufactures thoughts of sadness and hatred.
As our textbook states, all of the italicized words are very controversial in meaning depending on the people talking about them. The words are very general and broad and can be interpreted in a multitude of different ways. I ask myself, “How would I really think of a definition for these words?” My mind stumbles over all of the different contexts and circumstances that these words appear in my world. To start off, I would first find a roughly general definition of the word and carefully apply it to the claim of the word.
After thinking of a general definition and applying it to the context of the claim, I would need to think about what the word personally means to me. What I consider to be “serious literature” could be totally different than another person. I would need to carefully and meticulously come up with my own definition of the particular word being considered. Following that, I would merge my definition with the generally applied to help narrow it and make it a more specific criteria.
As I have already said, I am sure that my definition of a word would be the total opposite of another person’s definition. I would need to look at the complete picture of the word, including the general definition, other people’s beliefs, my own thoughts and beliefs, and all of the varied meanings of the word. The combination of all of that when applied to whatever the situation is would help me to finally form a criteria of definition for that particular word or phrase.
In real life a word can mean one thing to one person, and another to someone else. A word can be defined by anyone, however she wishes to define it. It is all based on the context of the situation, the experiences of the definer, and the thoughts racing through someone’s mind. In other words, any word can mean anything to anybody.
As our textbook states, all of the italicized words are very controversial in meaning depending on the people talking about them. The words are very general and broad and can be interpreted in a multitude of different ways. I ask myself, “How would I really think of a definition for these words?” My mind stumbles over all of the different contexts and circumstances that these words appear in my world. To start off, I would first find a roughly general definition of the word and carefully apply it to the claim of the word.
After thinking of a general definition and applying it to the context of the claim, I would need to think about what the word personally means to me. What I consider to be “serious literature” could be totally different than another person. I would need to carefully and meticulously come up with my own definition of the particular word being considered. Following that, I would merge my definition with the generally applied to help narrow it and make it a more specific criteria.
As I have already said, I am sure that my definition of a word would be the total opposite of another person’s definition. I would need to look at the complete picture of the word, including the general definition, other people’s beliefs, my own thoughts and beliefs, and all of the varied meanings of the word. The combination of all of that when applied to whatever the situation is would help me to finally form a criteria of definition for that particular word or phrase.
In real life a word can mean one thing to one person, and another to someone else. A word can be defined by anyone, however she wishes to define it. It is all based on the context of the situation, the experiences of the definer, and the thoughts racing through someone’s mind. In other words, any word can mean anything to anybody.
2 comments:
I agree with you Kirsten. Words generally are very hard to define. Coming up with a criteria for each of the sayings in an orderly, specific mater would have taken a long time with a lot of writing. There are just too many meanings to encompass them all, and too many rebuttals to have to think of.
Look at Zach's blog too. He did the assignment completely different, defining each criteria as he saw it. Makes for some interesting comparison!
It makes me uneasy that I was the only one with my format. I guess thats what we can expect from a class of only a few people.
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