What It All Means

What It All Means
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 488
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262371773
ISBN-13 : 0262371774
Rating : 4/5 (774 Downloads)

Book Synopsis What It All Means by : Philippe Schlenker

Download or read book What It All Means written by Philippe Schlenker and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2022-11-22 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How meaning works—from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music—and how meaning is connected to truth. We communicate through language, connecting what we mean to the words we say. But humans convey meaning in other ways as well, with facial expressions, hand gestures, and other methods. Animals, too, can get their meanings across without words. In What It All Means, linguist Philippe Schlenker explains how meaning works, from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music. He shows that these extraordinarily diverse types of meaning can be studied and compared within a unified approach—one in which the notion of truth plays a central role. “It’s just semantics” is often said dismissively. But Schlenker shows that semantics—the study of meaning—is an unsung success of modern linguistics, a way to investigate some of the deepest questions about human nature using tools from the empirical and formal sciences. Drawing on fifty years of research in formal semantics, Schlenker traces how meaning comes to life. After investigating meaning in primate communication, he explores how human meanings are built, using in some cases sign languages as a guide to the workings of our inner “logic machine.” Schlenker explores how these meanings can be enriched by iconicity in sign language and by gestures in spoken language, and then turns to more abstract forms of iconicity to understand the meaning of music. He concludes by examining paradoxes, which—being neither true nor false—test the very limits of meaning.


What It All Means Related Books

What It All Means
Language: en
Pages: 488
Authors: Philippe Schlenker
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-11-22 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How meaning works—from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music—and how meaning is connected to truth.
What It All Means
Language: en
Pages: 228
Authors: Salah
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2011-11-04 - Publisher: BalboaPress

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What It All Means is a fresh formulation of the perennial philosophy addressed to the serious spiritual seeker in the twenty-first century. Author Salah weaves
What It All Means
Language: en
Pages: 488
Authors: Philippe Schlenker
Categories: Language Arts & Disciplines
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-11-22 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How meaning works—from monkey calls to human language, from spoken language to sign language, from gestures to music—and how meaning is connected to truth.
By All Means Necessary
Language: en
Pages: 299
Authors: Elizabeth Economy
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-03 - Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From two leading scholars in the field, a comprehensive account of the Chinese economy's explosive growth over the past 25 years.
By All Means Keep on Moving
Language: en
Pages: 348
Authors: Marilu Henner
Categories: Biography & Autobiography
Type: BOOK - Published: 1995 - Publisher: Pocket Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First known as Elaine Nardo on the Emmy-Award winning sitcom Taxi, Marilu Henner has moved from Evening Shade to her own hit talk show, Marilu. Whether talking