Linguistic Arbitrariness

In linguistics, arbitrariness  is the absence of any natural or necessary connection between a words meaning and its sound or form. An antithesis to  sound symbolism, which does exhibit an apparent connection between sound and sense, arbitrariness is one of the characteristics shared between all languages. As R.L. Trask points out in ​Language: The Basics: the overwhelming presence of arbitrariness in language is the chief reason it takes so long to learn the  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹vocabulary  of a foreign language. This is largely due to confusion over similar-sounding words in a secondary language.​ Trask goes on to use the example of trying to guess the names of creatures in a foreign language based on the sound and form alone, providing a list of Basque words — zaldi, igel, txori, oilo, behi, sagu, which mean horse, frog, bird, hen, cow, and mouse respectively — then observing that arbitrariness is not unique to humans but instead exists within all forms of communication.   Language Is Arbitrary   Therefore, all language can be assumed to be arbitrary, at least in this linguistic definition of the word, despite occasional iconic characteristics. Instead of universal rules and uniformity, then, language relies on associations of word meanings deriving from cultural conventions. To break this concept down further, linguist Edward Finegan wrote in Language: Its Structure and Use  about the difference between nonarbitrary and arbitrary semiotic signs through an observation of a mother and son burning rice. Imagine a parent trying to catch a few minutes of the televised evening news while preparing dinner, he writes. Suddenly a strong aroma of burning rice wafts into the TV room. This nonarbitrary sign  will send the parent scurrying to salvage dinner. The little boy, he posits, might also signal to his mother that the rice is burning by saying something like The rice is burning! However, Finegan argues that while the utterance is likely to elicit the same result of the mother checking on her cooking, the words themselves are arbitrary — it is a set of facts about  English  (not about burning rice) that enables the utterance to alert the parent, which makes the utterance an arbitrary  sign. Different Languages, Different Conventions As a result of languages reliance on cultural conventions, different languages naturally have different conventions, that can and do change — which is part of the reason that there are different languages in the first place! Second language learners must, therefore, learn each new word individually as its generally impossible to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word — even when given clues to the words meaning.   Even linguistic rules are considered to be slightly arbitrary. However, Timothy Endicott writes in ​The Value of Vagueness that: with all norms of language, there is a good reason to have such norms for the use of words in such ways. That good reason is that it is actually necessary to do so to achieve the coordination that enables communication, self-expression and all the other priceless benefits of having a language.

Short Story - 879 Words

Slade Thorley peers through the grungy window of the apartment he shares with his friends. Several beggars sit outside, looking more dejected by the minute. None of them seem to notice the scruffy blonde Missourian. â€Å"When’ll this end?† he wonders aloud, as much to himself as to the other two. â€Å"Pitying the street rats again?† Dennis Foster asks, trying to bat his matted, mud-colored locks away from his eyes. He doesn’t bother to look up from the cracked, dim screen of his Omni-Watch, a mandatory piece of equipment that gives a constant stream of propaganda. â€Å"You know we don’t have anything to spare for them.† â€Å"I know,† Slade responds, laying one hand lightly on the smudged pane. â€Å"I just find it hard to watch ‘em suffer outside while we†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oh, yeah,† Dennis chuckles. â€Å"I forgot there’s a hillbilly at the table. My bad.† Slade opens his mouth to reto rt, but is quickly cut off by Roger. â€Å"Why can’t we have a nice, quiet dinner for once?† Roger sighs. He turns to address the Cincinnati native. â€Å"Dennis, you know he hates it when you call him that.† â€Å"It’s a term of endearment, my friend,† Dennis clarifies, grinning somewhat-sincerely. â€Å"‘Term of endearment’, my foot,† Slade grumbles, picking his fork back up and resuming his meal. Some time later, the aging television in the corner of the tiny living room flickers to life with the sigil of the empire. The trio settles on the partially shredded couch to watch the nightly news broadcast, the only connection to the outside world they have. The sigil fades away and the camera focuses on the newscaster. He begins the broadcast by speaking about the financial state of the empire. It appears he is the only one who doesn’t know the figures are heavily biased lies. After this, he moves on to the stories, the fir st of which spoke of an upgrade on the empire’s sentinel drones. â€Å"The new drones will be outfitted with high powered lasers,† the newscaster says, flashing an altogether too-perfect smile at the camera. â€Å"These will replace the old bombs, allowing for a cleaner, less destructive attack on the Enemies of the Empire. They will also be faster andShow MoreRelatedshort story1018 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Short Stories:  Ã‚  Characteristics †¢Short  - Can usually be read in one sitting. †¢Concise:  Ã‚  Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told.  Ã‚  This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot †¢Usually tries to leave behind a  single impression  or effect.  Ã‚  Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act. †¢Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing  personal experiences  and  prior knowledge  to the story. Four MajorRead MoreThe Short Stories Ideas For Writing A Short Story Essay1097 Words   |  5 Pageswriting a short story. Many a time, writers run out of these short story ideas upon exhausting their sources of short story ideas. If you are one of these writers, who have run out of short story ideas, and the deadline you have for coming up with a short story is running out, the short story writing prompts below will surely help you. Additionally, if you are being tormented by the blank Microsoft Word document staring at you because you are not able to come up with the best short story idea, youRead MoreShort Story1804 Words   |  8 PagesShort story: Definition and History. A  short story  like any other term does not have only one definition, it has many definitions, but all of them are similar in a general idea. According to The World Book Encyclopedia (1994, Vol. 12, L-354), â€Å"the short story is a short work of fiction that usually centers around a single incident. Because of its shorter length, the characters and situations are fewer and less complicated than those of a novel.† In the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s DictionaryRead MoreShort Stories648 Words   |  3 Pageswhat the title to the short story is. The short story theme I am going conduct on is â€Å"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ by James Thurber (1973). In this short story the literary elements being used is plot and symbols and the theme being full of distractions and disruption. The narrator is giving a third person point of view in sharing the thoughts of the characters. Walter Mitty the daydreamer is very humorous in the different plots of his dr ifting off. In the start of the story the plot, symbols,Read MoreShort Stories1125 Words   |  5 PagesThe themes of short stories are often relevant to real life? To what extent do you agree with this view? In the short stories â€Å"Miss Brill† and â€Å"Frau Brechenmacher attends a wedding† written by Katherine Mansfield, the themes which are relevant to real life in Miss Brill are isolation and appearance versus reality. Likewise Frau Brechenmacher suffers through isolation throughout the story and also male dominance is one of the major themes that are highlighted in the story. These themes areRead MoreShort Story and People1473 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Title: Story Of An Hour Author: Kate Chopin I. On The Elements / Literary Concepts The short story Story Of An Hour is all about the series of emotions that the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard showed to the readers. With the kind of plot of this short story, it actually refers to the moments that Mrs. Mallard knew that all this time, her husband was alive. For the symbol, I like the title of this short story because it actually symbolizes the time where Mrs. Mallard died with joy. And with thatRead MoreShort Story Essay1294 Words   |  6 PagesA short story concentrates on creating a single dynamic effect and is limited in character and situation. It is a language of maximum yet economical effect. Every word must do a job, sometimes several jobs. Short stories are filled with numerous language and sound devices. These language and sound devices create a stronger image of the scenario or the characters within the text, which contribute to the overall pre-designed effect.As it is shown in the metaphor lipstick bleeding gently in CinnamonRead MoreGothic Short Story1447 W ords   |  6 Pages The End. In the short story, â€Å"Emma Barrett,† the reader follows a search party group searching for a missing girl named Emma deep in a forest in Oregon. The story follows through first person narration by a group member named Holden. This story would be considered a gothic short story because of its use of setting, theme, symbolism, and literary devices used to portray the horror of a missing six-year-old girl. Plot is the literal chronological development of the story, the sequence of eventsRead MoreRacism in the Short Stories1837 Words   |  7 PagesOften we read stories that tell stories of mixing the grouping may not always be what is legal or what people consider moral at the time. The things that you can learn from someone who is not like you is amazing if people took the time to consider this before judging someone the world as we know it would be a completely different place. The notion to overlook someone because they are not the same race, gender, creed, religion seems to be the way of the world for a long time. Racism is so prevalentRead MoreThe Idol Short Story1728 Words   |  7 PagesThe short stories â€Å"The Idol† by Adolfo Bioy Casares and â€Å"Axolotl† by Julio Cortà ¡zar address the notion of obsession, and the resulting harm that can come from it. Like all addictions, obsession makes one feel overwhelmed, as a single thought comes to continuously intr uding our mind, causing the individual to not be able to ignore these thoughts. In â€Å"Axolotl†, the narrator is drawn upon the axolotls at the Jardin des Plantes aquarium and his fascination towards the axolotls becomes an obsession. In

Alcoholism Among the Youth Free Essays

The debate over whether the legal drinking age should be lowered or remain the same is an ongoing battle. At the age of twenty-one, it is studied that the mind is finished with its natural process of development. It is less likely that alcohol can damage the development of the brain as compared to the brain of an eighteen year old who has yet to finish maturing. We will write a custom essay sample on Alcoholism Among the Youth or any similar topic only for you Order Now The legal drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact at a younger age; people are less tolerant and less capable of controlling their reactions to the alcohol, potentially putting their lives and the lives of others in danger. Almost every state has set a legal drinking age of twenty-one, the legal voting age at the time, after prohibition was repealed. Between 1970 and 1975, twenty-nine states lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, twenty-nine states also lowered their drinking age to eighteen or nineteen. During the late seventies, studies showed that traffic crashes had drastically increased after lowering the drinking age. Once this was announced publicly, many groups created a movement to increase the minimal drinking age, and sixteen states responded. The Uniform Drinking Act was passed in 1984.This strongly encouraged the remaining thirteen states to raise their drinking age. If the states would not agree to do so by 1987, the government said that it would cut highway funding (Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drugs). Many would argue that when the drinking age were set at twenty-one, there is an unavoidably huge increase in alcohol use when youths, turning twenty-one, â€Å"make up for lost time. † However, a study done by Alexander Wagenaar and PM O’Malley found that when the minimum drinking age was twenty-one, there was a lower use of alcohol after one turned twenty-one.One of the largest arguments in favor of lowering the drinking age is the use of Europe as a comparison. Where as in Europe, where there isn’t a prescribed legal age for drinking, the age for drinking in the United States is 21. One could also argue that within the United States, one is considered a young adult at the age of 18. At this age, one can get married, smoke, obtain a license, and can even be drafted into the army to protect this country with a potential of losing one’s life. This lower age for driving in combination with the lowered drinking age incurs a rise in traffic accidents and even eath. Drinking before twenty-one causes more deaths than illnesses. On the other hand, those countries have their share of alcohol problems. The rate of alcohol-related diseases such as cirrhosis to the liver is the same, if not higher, as in the United States. Also drunk driving among youth in Europe is lower, but only because the legal driving age in most European countries is higher. Furthermore the use of public transportation is greater in Europe, where as in the United States fewer people take advantage of public transportation. Public transportation is either frowned upon or not available.It is also argued that even though the legal drinking age is at twenty-one, many youths still can easily obtain and drink alcohol, so the current drinking age doesn’t work. It stands to reason to conclude that if the drinking age were lowered to eighteen, even younger children would be using alcohol. This therefore, would have adverse affects on our society, not a positive affect. Because it’s illegal for people under twenty-one, many of those people don’t drink. Lowering the drinking age would increase alcohol problems among teens, even at an earlier age.My opinion is further supported by the Correlation between underage drinking and alcohol abuse. Scientists of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have said that teens that begin drinking before the age of fifteen are four times more likely to become alcoholics. The same institute also found that alcohol abuse doubles, in those who start drinking before the age of fifteen compared to those who first begin drinking at age twenty-one. Continuing, they found that twenty-five percent of those who began drinking before the age of seventeen went on to become alcoholics. Substances are widely used by the youth as a means of excitement, consolation, belonging to a group, rebellion, a symbol of social and sexual maturity and independence. As expressed in the CHILD PSYCHIATRY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, â€Å"The destabilization of the family, ethical confusion, peer pressure and the decline of self-discipline among the young are the essential causes of adolescent substance use and abuse. † Excess drinking is usually associated with unwanted outcomes on part of the adolescent drinker.Jonathan Gruber, author of Risky Behavior among Youths: an Economic Analysis, expresses that â€Å"Drinking can lead to an increased chance of motor-vehicle accident or other type of injury, unwanted sex, criminal victimization, and other problems stemming from clumsiness, distorted perception, and cognitive deficit. † This lists only but a few of the many consequences that result from underage drinking. One solution offered to prevent the consequences faced with reck less drinking is changing the physical and social environments in which adolescents interact.Reducing the number of alcohol-related problems in America is a huge challenge to face. In part, this is because of the â€Å"prominent and deep-rooted role of drinking in American society. † Prohibition demonstrated that it is impossible to eliminate drinking in the United States. But one of the major themes running through this book has been that these problems are not indisputable. Their extent can be made smaller or larger by taking or failing to take appropriate actions. Furthermore, most studies show an increase in traffic accidents, and even deaths, among youths when the drinking age was lower.The Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drugs also states that the result of lowering the drinking age caused a five to twenty percent increase in the number of fatal injury-causing crashes â€Å"likely to involve alcohol, such as single-vehicle accidents occurring late at night. † Alcohol use is typically reported in one-fifth to two-thirds of these problems; youth drowning, vandalism, assaults, suicides, and teenage pregnancies (Toomey, Rosenfeld, and Wagenaar 3). Besides accidents, there is also an association between alcohol abuse and suicide.Between one-third and two-thirds of adolescent suicide victims have a measurable blood alcohol level. A study of suicides from 1970 to 1990, done by Johanna Birckmeyer and David Hemenway, found that the suicide rates of eighteen to twenty year olds living in states with a drinking age of eighteen was eight percent higher than in states with a drinking age of twenty-one. The last point to consider is that when the drinking age was lowered to eighteen or nineteen an increase in traffic accidents occurred. Drinking before twenty-one causes more death than illnesses.It seems to me that there is little valid argument against leaving the legal drinking age at twenty-one. Auto accidents, suicides, illnesses, and alcoholism are all reasons in favor of maintaining a legal drinking age of twenty-one. The world is not yet mature enough for such a drastic change as lowering the legal drinking age, the damage would be too great.Works Cited Birckmayer, Johanna; Hememway, David. â€Å"Minimum-age drinking laws and youth suicide, 1970-1990. † American Journal of Public Health, 1999. Print. Bower, B. Alcoholism shows its youthful side. † Science News, 2000. Print. Quigley, Loria, et al. Drinking among Young Adults. Alcohol Health and Research World (2000): 185- 191. Print. Sherman, Laura. â€Å"Tragedy After An Enormous Accomplishment. † Germantown High School News 1999. Print Toomey, Rosenfield, and Wager. Encyclopedia of Alcohol and Drugs. New York, 1995. Toomey, Rosenfield, and Wager. The Minimum Legal Drinking Age: History, Effectiveness, and Ongoing Debate. Alcohol Health and Research World (2000): 213. Print. Wagenaar,Alexander, et al. Deterring Sales and Provision of aAlcohol to Minors: A Study of Enforcement in 295 Countries in Four States. Public Health Reports (2000): 185-191. Print. Gruber, Jonathan. Risky Behavior among Youths: an Economic Analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2001. Print. Segal, Boris M. , and Jacqueline C. Stewart. â€Å"Substance Use and Abuse in Adolescence: An Overview. † CHILD PSYCHIATRY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Volume 26. 4 (1996): 193-210. Print. Olson, Steve, and Dean R. Gerstein. Alcohol in America: Taking Action to Prevent Abuse. Washington, D. C. : National Academy, 1985. Print. How to cite Alcoholism Among the Youth, Papers