Recommended viewing - Artificial Intelligence

I invent a new word: "blarging."

What does it mean? Absolutely nothing!

Now I put the word in relation to others: "I blarging hate that blarging stuff!"

And presto, now it has some meaning! 😄

Words only have meaning as a network of connections amongst other words.

I wasn't aware you were talking exclusively about nonce words, as you seem to be doing now.

Naturally a nonce word will be difficult to decipher [though not necessarily impossible, if it is a portmanteau word, for example, or onomatopoeic] without other words to orientate you towards its intended meaning, but a word in isolation that is part of accepted usage within a language community can sometimes have ample meaning.

When you're driving your car and you meet a STOP or a SLOW sign, do these words have no meaning for you?

Edited By Bill Phinn on 16/05/2023 20:26:16

All words start out as meaningless nonce words. Then they gain meaning by being used in relation to other words. For example, I can't understand what teenagers are talking about because of all their secret new words that haven't seeped into general use yet.

So yes, of course the word "stop" has meaning, but that's only because of its prior and now established connections to other words, for example the words "here's your ticket for blowing past that stop sign!"

So, it's the network and strength of connections between words that are their meanings.

Edited By S K on 16/05/2023 21:01:36