Articles:Representation meaning and language
From unthinkMedia
This article reminded me of a blog post i wrote a while back (http://blog.unthinkmedia.com/?p=12). What i was trying to say in the article had a lot of similarities to the "constructivist" approach of representation. To create an effective brand, you need to create a culture. With out a culture you brand is nothing more then a logo on some letterhead.
Not many of us speak Greek, however Nike has gone to great lengths to attribute their brand to victory. There is a reason why Tiger Woods wears a Nike shirts, and I am pretty sure it doesn't have to do with the fabric.
The way that culture molds our representation is pretty remarkable. A "Thumbs Up" means good, but a "Thumb Down", means bad. Why when you turn your thumb 90 clockwise you are now a hitchhiker, counter-clockwise and your just a strange guy with your thumb out. In this case, our culture has taken a very similar Mental representation, and decoded it based the angle that your wrist is in.
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What is representation?
Representation is the essential process in which meaning is produced between members of a culture through language.
The relation between things, concepts, and signs lies at the heart of the production of language. The process which links these 3 elements is what we call 'representation'(pg.19)
Although the people within a culture may have slightly unique interpretations of the world, they are able to communicate because a culture shares broadly the same conceptual map.
Type of Signs
iconic
Visual signs which share resemblance to the object.
indexical
Written or spoken signs.
The representation in this system is arbitrary since any collection of sounds and letter would work. Much like why many words in French and Russian share no similarities to those of English. However the representation of the object within their cultures are mostly the same.
Systems of Constructing Meaning
Mental Representation
Consists of multiple ways of organizing, classifying, and identifying similar patterns and relationships between concepts.
The relationship between things in the world
Shared Common Language
The ability to represent or exchange meanings and concepts within your culture. This is necessary so that we could correlate our concepts and ideas through signs:
- written words
- spoken sounds
- visual images (fashion, iconic logo)
- communicative object (traffic light)
Anything capable of expressing meaning is language.
Meaning is not dependent on material attributes of a sign. Meaning is created through its symbolic function. A sign represents a concept that it can function.
Approach to representation
Reflective
Meaning reflects the meaning which already exists in the world
- Personal Note: What about anamanapia, the sounds an object makes when in action (mooo, woof) which share auditory resemblance.
Intentional
Meaning is expresses only by the speaker or writer intended meaning.
Constructivist
Meaning is constructed in and through language using a representational system of concepts and signs.
Representation Flow
Through the processes of representation we can make sense of the world through language so others could understand.
- you see something either visually or in "minds eye"
- you decode the object through visual interpretation (identify the code) to classify and organize it into a meaningful category.
- use a common sign that represent the concept of the object
Meaning
Meaning depends on the relation between a sign and a concept which is fixed by codes
Meaning is not based on the object, person, or sign. Meaning is created by a culture who fixes the meaning so firmly that it seem natural. Meaning is constructed.
Sharing Codes
In order for people to be able to communicate they must construct and share a coding system which is use to find correlations between our conceptual system and language system.
Codes:
- fix relationships between concepts and signs.
- stabilize meaning
- identify which concept a sign is reffing to
Codes are instilled in children which enable them to query conventions and representations, enabling them to function within others in their culture.
It was pretty interesting to see how Twitter has organically developed far beyond what the creator meant. Originally created as a method to tie together communication via SMS and the web, additional usage and language has been crowd-sourced by it's culture. The product took on a life of it's own, with little effort by its creators.
- Personal Note: It was pretty interesting to see how Twitter has organically developed far beyond what the creator meant. Originally created as a method to tie together communication via SMS and the web, additional usage and language has been crowdsourced by shifted by it's culture. The product took on a life of it's own, with little effort by its creators.
