Words have an inward coloring of their own. klk, Jacksonville, January, 2015 Today I am thinking about reading and writing, and, in fact, any use of language. Some people still today view language as unambiguous… a code that can be broken, learned and taught. In the last century, language-in-use was distinguished from an idealized language code that existed independently of people and could be studied and described on its own. (For example, Saussure’s parole and langue, or Chomsky’s performance and competence.) In the 20th century, revolutionary ideas caused important changes in European and American science and philosophy. We became less certain of such self-contained definitions and clear-cut ways of looking at the world. Within this zeitgeist, philosophers and researchers began to question the proposition that language and meaning could be considered as separate from its users, and theories such as Louise Rosenblatt’s theory of reading as “transaction” appeared in the middle decades of the 20th Century.
Rosenblatt proposed that meaning in a text does not exist independently on the page but develops out of a “transaction” the reader has with the text, with the context, and with their own knowledge. Even if the writer of a text has a purpose and intention in the moment of writing, their meaning does not automatically imprint itself on the mind of the reader/listener. The reader/listener also has a purpose and intention. In this transaction, between readers and writers, between purposes and intentions, meaning is created. Quoting William James and Lev Vygotsky, Rosenblatt reminds us
“…that not only the words referring to objects, but also the words naming the relationships among them carry ‘an inward coloring of their own’ in the stream of consciousness (1890, p. 245). This rich experiential aura of language is different for each of us. As L. S. Vygotsky pointed out, "the sense" of a word is ‘the sum of all the psychological events aroused in our consciousness by the word’ (1962, p. 146).” (Rosenblatt, 1988)
The reader brings all of his or her understandings of the world to the transaction of reading. These understandings include his or her background, culture, knowledge, emotions, feelings, and purposes. The meaning in a text is, therefore, dependent on the reader’s response within a certain context, at a certain time, and for a certain purpose.
What color are your words?
kate
Quote from: Technical Report No. 416 WRITING AND READING: THE TRANSACTIONAL THEORY Louise M. Rosenblatt
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/18044/ctrstreadtechrepv01988i00416_opt.pdf?s
Rosenblatt proposed that meaning in a text does not exist independently on the page but develops out of a “transaction” the reader has with the text, with the context, and with their own knowledge. Even if the writer of a text has a purpose and intention in the moment of writing, their meaning does not automatically imprint itself on the mind of the reader/listener. The reader/listener also has a purpose and intention. In this transaction, between readers and writers, between purposes and intentions, meaning is created. Quoting William James and Lev Vygotsky, Rosenblatt reminds us
“…that not only the words referring to objects, but also the words naming the relationships among them carry ‘an inward coloring of their own’ in the stream of consciousness (1890, p. 245). This rich experiential aura of language is different for each of us. As L. S. Vygotsky pointed out, "the sense" of a word is ‘the sum of all the psychological events aroused in our consciousness by the word’ (1962, p. 146).” (Rosenblatt, 1988)
The reader brings all of his or her understandings of the world to the transaction of reading. These understandings include his or her background, culture, knowledge, emotions, feelings, and purposes. The meaning in a text is, therefore, dependent on the reader’s response within a certain context, at a certain time, and for a certain purpose.
What color are your words?
kate
Quote from: Technical Report No. 416 WRITING AND READING: THE TRANSACTIONAL THEORY Louise M. Rosenblatt
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/18044/ctrstreadtechrepv01988i00416_opt.pdf?s
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