MEANING, THOUGHT AND REALITY(HOW CATEGORIES INFLUENCE THINKING, STEREOTYPES AND MIND CONNECTIONS)

FFLCH – USP Estudos Linguísticos e Literários em Inglês

Tópicos de Semântica

Professora Elizabeth Harkot de La Taille

1º Semestre de 2015

HOW TO DEFINE A WORD?

How to provide meaning accurately to this word?

How do we create the web of meaning that links one word to another connected with it?

How do we know which category one word belongs?

How do we develop this category sense?

How do we create an image for some words that sometimes are not even related to it?

Why do we put these images even before the “real” meaning of the word?

People use to categorize things in order to put them in groups according to

their similarities. By the categories we can identify and also distinguish one

thing from another.

ANIMAL

MAMMAL

FELINE

TIGERLION

JAGUAR

tawny-colored and black-

striped

tufted tail and, in the male, a large mane

tawny coat with black rosettes

... ...

......

We can categorize things by its shape, use, or function, but also by our

cognitive entities, because people individually or from different cultures

have their own perspective of things and may have different interpretation

when categorizing.

WORD CATEGORY MEANING STEREOTYPE

Stereotypes are often caricatured and generalized representations,

motivating some prejudice against what they represent.

RELIGION

JUDAISM CHRISTIANISM

nitpicky(overly critical)

headstrong

...

...

stingy miser

greed

CATHOLICISM

PROTESTANTISM

cruel abbesses

lustful priests

homophobic

headstrong

churchy (fanatic)

AFRICAN

CANDOMBLE

..

.UMBANDA

witchcraft

animal sacrifice

evil

hypocritical

LOVECategory:

Abstract

Oxford Entry:

a strong feeling

of deep

affection for

somebody

Love is full of troubles.

Of honey and fall in love there is store.

The course of true love never did run smooth.

(Shakespeare)

É quando uma pessoa se ama e até pode casar e ter

filhos e todas essas besteiras. (Ana Cristina Henao, 7 anos)

O amor é o que faz as crianças.

(Adelaida Restrepo, 10 anos)

Que minha mamãe não morra e meu papai não

morra. (Pablo José Jaramilho, 6 anos)

Against the proverbs and quotations, the definitions by

the children shown an image of "family", and are not

related with romantic love.

PEASANTCategory:

Agent

Oxford Entry:

a poor smallholder or

agricultural laborer of low

social status (chiefly in

historical use or with

reference to subsistence

farming in poorer countries

When the calf is stolen, the

peasant mends the stall.

informal: an ignorant, rude, or

unsophisticated person: e.g.:

‘that is a civilized drink, you

peasant’

A peasant between two

lawyers is like a fish between

two cats.

Um camponês não tem casa,

nem dinheiro. Só seus filhos. (Luis Alberto Ortiz, 8 anos)

É uma pessoa inútil que não

sabe nada. (Jennifer Katia Gómez, 9 anos)

Os que se vestem mal. (Diego Alejandro Giraldo, 8 anos)

The definitions by the children corroborates the stereotype of a peasant

as somebody simpleton, ignorant, somebody who lives outside society.

Only the last definition come closer to the "real" meaning of the word.

É uma pessoa da terra. (Julián

David García, 11 anos)

CHILDCategory:

Agent

Oxford Entry:

A young human being

below the age of puberty or

below the legal age of

majority; a son or daughter

of any age

Children pick up words as

pigeon peas, and utter them

again as God shall please (Shakespeare)

Humano feliz. (Jhonan Sebatián Agudelo, 8 anos)

Quando nasce é pequenininho

e quando cresce um

pouquinho e não sabem seu

nome chamam de menino. (Daniel Jaramillo, 7 anos)

We can see that these definitions are more descriptions of what kind of

"being" the child is, focusing on size and behavior (they play). The idea of

joy and happiness is very present.

Com ossos, com olhos e

brincam. (Luiz Felipe Agudelo, 5 anos)

A child has a special way of

adding joy to every day!

ADULTCategory:

Agent

Oxford Entry:

a fully grown person who is

legally responsible for their

actions

Adult life: if you are not tired,

you’re doing it wrong.

Pessoa que em toda coisa que

fala, vem primeiro ela. (Andrés Felipe Bedoya, 8 anos)

Pessoa que fica obcecada em

fazer amor. (Simón Peláez, 11 anos)

On the children’ side we have two definitions centered on behavior that

brings a heavy charge of selfishness for the word "adult“, while one gives

us a size description. And the quotes… don’t worry: Are just a few adults

complaining about everything…

Criança que cresceu muito. (Camilo Aramburo, 8 anos)

The creative adult is the child

who survived.

As a kid, you can’t wait to

grow up. As an adult, you wish

you were a kid again.

WARCategory:

Concept

Oxford Entry:

a situation in which two or

more countries or groups of

people fight against each

other over a period of time

É um jogo que os meninos de

hoje jogam. (Paula Andrea Franco, 9 anos)

É quando matam os outros. (María Alejandra Soto, 10 anos)

Gente que se mata por um

pedaço de terra ou de paz. (Juan Carlos Mejía, 11 anos)

Make love, not war. (American saying)

War is death’s feast. (Chinese proverb)

The concept is intrinsically attached to violence and death.

There is a subtle bias related to the futility of war too.

PEACECategory:

Concept

Oxford Entry:

a situation or a period of

time in which there is no

war or violence in a

country or an area

É para uns que matam muito. (Jonny Alexander Arias, 8 anos)

Quando alguém se perdoa. (Juan Camilo Hurtado, 8 anos)

É o fruto da terra que ainda sobrevive.

(Lina Maria Murillo, 10 anos)

There can never be peace

between nations until it is first

known that true peace is

within the souls of men.(Sioux proverb)

The stereotyped meaning works as an opposition to war:

where there is no war, there is Peace (along with forgiveness

and survival).

POLITICIANCategory:

Agent

Oxford Entry:

A person who is professionally involved in politics,

especially as a holder of an elected office

Pessoa que põe mãos em sociedade. (Robinson Sepúlveda, 10 anos)

É uma pessoa que acaba com a gente ou ajuda, depende de sua

situação econômica. (Pastor Ernesto Castaño, 11 anos)

Alguém que faz promessas e nunca cumpre.

(Roger de Jesús Valencia, 9 anos)

A gentle politician doesn't

promise to build bridges where

there is no water.

A person who acts in a manipulative and devious way, typically to gain advancement within an

organization.

The main idea is about dishonesty, building the stereotype of “thief

politician” – the one who takes advantage of everything and does not

really care about society and community.

CONCLUSION

Thus we can conclude that meaning is a matter of interpretation. We categorize things according to our perspective, our view of the world. Meaning does not have its boundaries in a dictionary definition but is

also influenced by background of the speakers, because of social regional, age or genre variations. In sum, meaning , thought, reality, and the stereotypes

that are constructed by means of categorization reflect the culture of the society we live in.

THANK YOU!

Dominique Girard - 7611985

Karina Ono - 7699830

Tainá Moterani - 6996527