C.K. Ogden and I.A. Richards, in their 1923 book The Meaning of Meaning, examined how language influences thought and the science of symbolism. They listed 23 different definitions of "meaning" that had been proposed, showing how a lack of agreement on this basic term can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. Some of the definitions included meaning as an intrinsic property, the connotations of a word, an essence, the practical or theoretical consequences implied by a statement, or what someone refers to or believes themselves to be referring to when using or interpreting a symbol. The book aimed to untangle the complexities around defining the concept of meaning.
1. THE MEANING OF MEANING: A STUDY
OF THE INFLUENCE OF
LANGUAGE UPON THOUGHT
AND OF THE SCIENCE OF
SYMBOLISM
C. K. ODGEN & I. A. RICHARDS (1923)
2. PRESENTATION BY:
CHARLES KATEY ADABAH
KOFI AIKINS
THERESA LAWEH
MARIAN DUFIE KWAKYE
MARIAN AMPOSAH FRIMPONG
MARGARET AKROBOTU
3. INTRODUCTION
“The word ‘meaning’ and its
corresponding verb ‘to mean” are
among the most eminently
discussable terms in the English
language, and semanticists have
often seemed to spend an
immoderate amount of time puzzling
out the ‘meanings of meaning’ as a
supposedly necessary preliminary to
4. CONTINUATION
It is difficult to define meaning;
1. A word may convey different senses
to different people at the same time.
For example, the word “bank”(as a
noun)-land along the side of a river; an
establishment for money transaction, a
reservoir, etc.
2. Another reason may relate to the
context of the word and the attitude of
5. The meaning of meaning
c. k. odgen & i. a. richards (1923)
C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards in their
book, The Meaning of Meaning (1923)
listed as many as twenty-three(23)
definitions of meanings, taking different
non-theoretical or theoretical starting
points. Ogden and Richard presented
this list to show how confusion and
misunderstanding come about because
of lack of agreement about such basic
terms as meaning.
6. THE TWENTY-THREE (23)
DEFININTIONS OF MEANING
An intrinsic property.
A unique unanalysable relation to other things.
The other words annexed to a word in the
dictionary.
The connotation of a word.
An essence.
An activity projected into an object.
An event intended.
A volition.
7. CONTINUATION
The place of anything in a system.
The practical consequences of a thing in our
future experience.
The theoretical consequences involved in or
implied by a statement.
Emotion aroused by anything.
That which is actually related to a sign by a
chosen relation.
That which a sign is interpreted as being of.
What anything suggests. (in the case of symbols)
8. THE TWENTY-THREE DEFININTIONS OF
MEANING
CONTINUATION
That to which the user of a symbol actually
refers.
That to which the user of a symbol ought to be
referring.
That to which the user of a symbol believes
himself to be referring.
That to which the interpreter of a symbol
a. Refers.
b. Believes himself to be referring.
c. Believes the user to be referring.
