Have you ever heard a certain word and you are immediately brought back to a certain memory? Maybe you hear the word “summer” and you can almost feel the sun beating on your skin and smell the fresh ocean air. Maybe it’s a negative memory. Maybe you hear the word “Valentine’s day,” and instantly drown in thoughts of heartbreak and can feel the regret of overindulging in chocolate and wine in your stomach. For me, it’s the word “kolache,” and it is not a good experience. You are probably wondering how someone could not like kolaches. Well, being from Washington, kolaches are foreign. I remember the first time I tasted a kolache. I also remember tasting the same kolache again, only minutes later as I threw up everything inside my body. No, I did not eat a bad kolache. The kolache was delicious. However, the medicine I was on at the time caused me to casually dismiss the contents of my entire stomach. One bad experience made my brain associate feelings of sickness and misery with the wonderful breakfast food known as a “kolache.” This is a prime example of the referential theory. I became quite interested in this theory and decided to examine it a bit further. It is amazing how various experiences, feelings, and things can have such a heavy effect on the meaning of words. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the Referential Theory by certain criteria of a good theory. Ogden and Richards are the authors of the Referential theory.
…show more content…
The Referential theory “assumes that as children, we learn that things/phenomena have names” (Lee, 2017). Once we are able to understand that, the word can “elicit or stimulate us to think about the thing/phenomenon” (Lee, 2017). Ogden and Richards concluded that this theory could predict numerous things when it comes to the meaning of words. This theory predicts that when we see an object, we learn its name. This theory predicts that when we experience the object, the thought about the object becomes associated with a word or symbol. This theory also predicts that meaning is expressed through the relationships of experience/referent, thought/reference, and symbol for experience (Lee, 2017). Ogden and Richards both made contributions to the study of the meaning of words. The referential theory explains that words have meaning, “in large part because they represent or refer to things, feelings, or situations people have experienced” (Lee, 2017). Another factor associated with the meaning of words is experiences. Like I mentioned previously, in our minds we can associate words with different experiences. The way people learn the meaning of words is through associating them with things and the experiences we have with those things. The Referential theory explains a human’s understanding a sentence in terms of that person’s knowing what the words refer to. When discussing the Referential theory we can note that the relationship between the symbol and the reference is casual, as well as the relationship between the reference and the referent. This means, “contact with the referent causes the reference” (Lee, 2017). However, the relationship with the symbol and referent is considered indirect. A good theory must explain. The Referential theory explains the idea that linguistic expressions have a certain meaning because they stand for things. Another characteristic of a good theory is that it allows us to make predictions because it features relationships between concepts and variables. In the Referential theory, the symbol is referred to as the individual variable. The dependent variable would be the meaning. These variables interact with each other allowing us to make predictions based on their relationships. Another characteristic of a good theory is that the theory “increases our ability to control or shape how we communicate to successful and productive- as well as ethical- outcomes” (Lee, 2017). The Referential theory fits into this characteristic. By understanding the meanings of the words we use, we are able to shape how we communicate with others. According to Ogden and Richards “meaning cannot be understood without recognizing the relationship between words, thoughts, and feelings” (Heath). By recognizing the relationship between the variables we are able to actively communicate in a way that develops successful and productive outcomes. The Referential theory shows us the impact
The Referential theory “assumes that as children, we learn that things/phenomena have names” (Lee, 2017). Once we are able to understand that, the word can “elicit or stimulate us to think about the thing/phenomenon” (Lee, 2017). Ogden and Richards concluded that this theory could predict numerous things when it comes to the meaning of words. This theory predicts that when we see an object, we learn its name. This theory predicts that when we experience the object, the thought about the object becomes associated with a word or symbol. This theory also predicts that meaning is expressed through the relationships of experience/referent, thought/reference, and symbol for experience (Lee, 2017). Ogden and Richards both made contributions to the study of the meaning of words. The referential theory explains that words have meaning, “in large part because they represent or refer to things, feelings, or situations people have experienced” (Lee, 2017). Another factor associated with the meaning of words is experiences. Like I mentioned previously, in our minds we can associate words with different experiences. The way people learn the meaning of words is through associating them with things and the experiences we have with those things. The Referential theory explains a human’s understanding a sentence in terms of that person’s knowing what the words refer to. When discussing the Referential theory we can note that the relationship between the symbol and the reference is casual, as well as the relationship between the reference and the referent. This means, “contact with the referent causes the reference” (Lee, 2017). However, the relationship with the symbol and referent is considered indirect. A good theory must explain. The Referential theory explains the idea that linguistic expressions have a certain meaning because they stand for things. Another characteristic of a good theory is that it allows us to make predictions because it features relationships between concepts and variables. In the Referential theory, the symbol is referred to as the individual variable. The dependent variable would be the meaning. These variables interact with each other allowing us to make predictions based on their relationships. Another characteristic of a good theory is that the theory “increases our ability to control or shape how we communicate to successful and productive- as well as ethical- outcomes” (Lee, 2017). The Referential theory fits into this characteristic. By understanding the meanings of the words we use, we are able to shape how we communicate with others. According to Ogden and Richards “meaning cannot be understood without recognizing the relationship between words, thoughts, and feelings” (Heath). By recognizing the relationship between the variables we are able to actively communicate in a way that develops successful and productive outcomes. The Referential theory shows us the impact