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Mental representations

Concepts are therefore created by putting together both dictionary-type definitions and encyclopaedia-type entries (coming from the ICMs)

These teories state that speakers have "folk theories" about reality, based on their experience and culture

Frames or ICMs

e.g. For the category funiture, chair is a more typical element than lamp.

Views concepts as structured, so there are categories for which there are more typical and less typical members

Prototypes (Rosch)

"sufficient" conditions (set of characteristics that would be enough to constitute the concept)

the"necessary" conditions (conditions that the object must have to correspond to the concept)

Concepts are taken as bits of knowledge containing both

Necessary and sufficient conditions

Main theories about the nature of concepts

Abstract elements that contain the non-visual features of things

They are relational and might be acquired through ostensive definition

Concepts

This theory states that the relationship between the mental representations and the actual objects is one of resemblance

Images

Theories on what those mental entities are

Words can denote because they are associated with mental entities (sense) in the language user's mind

Representational apporaches to meaning

How human beings use language and meaning to talk about the world depends on their mental models of it

Human ability to talk about the world, to describe reality by means of words

Meaning, Language and Reality

Referents and extensions

Constant reference

Most nouns are potentailly refering expressions, since they most of the times identify entities

Have a referent in the material world

Referring

Referring and non referring expressions

Non-referring

Do not have a referent in the material world, but still carry meaning

Expressions like: so, very, maybe, not, all

Generic interpretations of reference

e.g. Paris, The Pacific Ocean.

e.g. You, me, I

That of linguistic expressions which referent depends on the context

That of linguistic expressions that will always have the same referent in the world.

Variable reference

Constant and variable reference

Referents

The specific objects in the world that speakers describe by means of language

The set of possible referents that a given linguistic expression might have

Extrensions

How language hooks onto the material world. A moment-by-moment relationship between the speaker and objects from reality

The stable relationship between a linguistc expression and the world

Denotation

Different from

Reference

Putting words into relationship with the actual word is meaning

Referential approaches to meaning