2.6 Symbolism and Language
Those who study human language often focus on two of its more remarkable features: symbolism and generativity. Symbolism in language means that words “stand for” or “refer to” something else. The word fox, for example, is said to “refer to” or “stand for” a particular type of really cool animal. Words can symbolize just about anything. Objects, events, people, places, and ideas can all be represented by words. Words can even simply refer to other words! It is often said that when you understand what a word is referring to, then you understand the word’s meaning.
| Symbolism | Generativity |
|---|---|
| Words “refer” to other things What a word “refers” to is often its meaning |
This shows the power that one word can have. There is so much tied into each word we have created and it shows why the word was created
I appreciate the visual representation of terms for RFT, since this can get a bit convoluted if approached from a purely scientific perspective. The distilled imagery here is super helpful.
Words meaning are crucial to having meaningful conversations.