Job Discussion Forums

[mesomorph]

[mesomorph]

Upon some deliberation I have confirmed that when we say 'there is one meaning for 'begin the engine', and two meanings for 'start the engine' we are indeed wrong.

There are as many meanings of 'start' and 'begin' as there are synonyms of 'start' and 'begin'.

As synonyms are never direct translations of one another then there are as many different shades of meaning as there are words and combinations of words in the English language.

Working with started -

I started the engine = a) I turned on the ignition b) I began to repair/assemble the engine

c) I 'fired up' the engine

Notice the different connotations of 'fired'; different shades of meaning; which suggest more of the internal machinations of our imaginary metal horse.

d) I 'embarked upon' engine repair

Notice the different shades of meaning (connotations) of 'embarked' suggesting more on the side of the nature of the task; perhaps daunting; undersirable, etc.

e) ad infinitum.

Working with 'engine'

I started the engine = a) I turned on the ignition b) I began to repair/assemble the engine

cii) I fired up the 'old steam train'

Notice that because we have not defined the wider context of our sentence it can be interpreted in different ways - context defines meaning; lack of context leaves meaning open to interpretation; grammatics, or a lack of, leave semantics very debatable.

Engine does not have fixed meaning.

dii) ad infinitum

Working with began

I began the engine = I A) began to repair/assemble the engine

B) I set in motion engine repair

Different shade of meaning of 'set in motion' - perhaps this is a big engine that takes alot of time to repair - who knows the wider context has not been defined - the meaning of one word does not rely upon only on its position in one collection of words.

C) I instigated engine assembly

Yes you began the engine but are you a slave driver?

Working with different purposes in mind

Hey have you seen the new Star Wars movie? Darth vader uses over simplified dialogue to increase the menacing effect of his psychopathic evil-doing. He says things like 'begin the engine' for 'activate the death star'.

Working with different types of English

Hey have you heard the phrase on the street for 'happy slap that old age pensioner'? Its 'begin the engine'. Weird huh?

Working with imagery

A recent report in the Washington Post revealed that Stephen Hawking intends to release a new title on the history of the universe the Christmas, rather imaginativly entitled 'How God began the Engine', which is apparently a metaphor for the big bang and the evolution of the universe.

...

[TheLongWayHome]

[mesomorph]

Out of interest -

'Semanticists generally recognize two sorts of meaning that an expression (such as the sentence, "John ate a bagel") may have: (1) the relation that the expression, broken down into its constituent parts (signs), has to things and situations in the real world as well as possible worlds, and (2) the relation the signs have to other signs, such as the sorts of mental signs that are conceived of as concepts.

Most theorists refer to the relation between a sign and its objects, as always including any manner of objective reference, as its denotation. Some theorists refer to the relation between a sign and the signs that serve in its practical interpretation as its connotation, but there are many more differences of opinion and distinctions of theory that are made in this case. Many theorists, especially in the formal semantic, pragmatic, and semiotic traditions, restrict the application of semantics to the denotative aspect, using other terms or completely ignoring the connotative aspect...

In linguistics, semantics is the subfield that is devoted to the study of meaning, as borne on the syntactic levels of words, phrases, sentences, and even larger units of discourse (referred to as texts). As with any empirical science, semantics involves the interplay of concrete data with theoretical concepts. Traditionally, semantics has included the study of connotative sense and denotative reference, truth conditions, argument structure, thematic roles, discourse analysis, and the linkage of all of these to syntax.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantics

I was thinking about making a lesson out of this for my beginners...

NOT

[zorro (3)]

So starting the car is not just a matter of putting the key in the ignition and turning after all.

I always suspected that there was something fishy about the whole process - some conceptual system that was operating beyond my realms of functioning that was driving me to twist.

[mesomorph]

[zorro (3)]

phew. That's a relief. You had me worried there for a while.

Note to self: The different connotations of start DO NOT mean that I have any less free will.

Wasn't it a large, anthropomorphic boiled egg who once said that words can mean whatever he wanted them to mean (shortly before he fell off the wall and cracked his head open)?

[mesomorph]

[SocratesSon2]

I have never seen so many people argue and discuss something so trivial. I feel like I am in a theological discussion among different sects of Christianity back in the 10th century. Some folks here need to get a new hobby.

[Stephen Jones]

[mesomorph]

[fluffyhamster]

*The car wouldn't begin.
The car wouldn't start.
The penny dropped.
Which is about two cents.

[TheLongWayHome]

I wish I'd never started/began/commenced this thread.

[mesomorph]