Part 3. The semantic structure of the word as a sign of language

The word is the main element and at the same time a sign of the language. It denotes objects, highlights their attributes, denotes actions, relationships between objects, i.e., encodes our experience.

This basic role is played by its semantic (semantic) structure, including the meaning and meaning of a word.

The fundamental role in the study of the characteristics of the semantic aspect of the word belongs to LS Vygotsky and other domestic psychologists: A.N. Leontyev, A.R. Luria, OS Vinogradova, A.A. Leontiev et al. (136, 147–149).

In modern psychology, the meaning of the word is defined as a generalized and stable reflection of the subject content included in the social and practical human activity (136, 148, 149, etc.).

The meaning of a word is a category objectively formed in the process of the historical development of society. By definition, A.N. Leontiev, the meaning of the word “is that which is revealed in an object or phenomenon objectively - in the system of objective connections, relations, interactions. The value is reflected, fixed in the language, and thanks to this it acquires stability ”(136, p. 387).

The semantic structure of the word is complex. So, its main component - the meaning of the word - includes two aspects, two “levels” that are closely related to the functions of the word. More L.S. Vygotsky drew attention to the fact that a word always indicates an object (action, quality), replaces it or “serves as its representation” (45). This function of the meaning of a word, at the suggestion of L. S. Vygotsky, was called the “object relatedness of the word.” Another function of the word is an objective and generalized reflection of the designated object or “the actual meaning of the word,” according to LS. Vygotsky.

In turn, the actual meaning of the word is also a multidimensional, “polymorphic” phenomenon, including three interrelated components; according to them, the word as a sign of a language performs three basic semantic functions.

First, the word-name not only names the object, points to it, but also simultaneously indicates its properties, functions, highlighting and summarizing them. Thus, the word “breadbasket” contains not only a direct reference to the corresponding item, but also an indication that this item is related to a specific food product, that it is a container, like other similar-purpose items: sugar bowl, candy bowl, ashtray ( "Grammatical" meaning of suffixes - n-, -its-). Finally, this word means that only one is displayed in speech, and not several identical objects (45).

Secondly, the word on the basis of a generalization of the main features, properties of the subject relates it to one or another subject category. Each word as if generalizes things, their signs (or actions), relates them to a certain category. For example, a “book” is any book (art, science, children’s); "Clock" - any watch (wrist watch, alarm clock, watch with a fight, etc.).

Thus, even a word with a “specific meaning” always denotes and displays not only this particular object, but also a whole category of objects at the same time. This component of the meaning of a word can be defined as its categorical meaning.

Proceeding from the above, it follows that the word not only indicates the subject, but also “does” the most complex analysis of this subject (sign, action), the analysis formed in the language codes in the process of socio-historical practice (45, 148).

Finally, thirdly, as indicated by A.R. Luria (148), the word "introduces" the designated object (action, quality) into a certain system of semantic relations and relations. For example, the word “student” inevitably causes such semantic connections (concepts) as “school”, “teacher”, “lessons”, “school supplies” in the mind of a person, and sometimes also relates to a more abstract system of categories, such as learning ”,“ teaching and upbringing methods ”and others. This function of the word as a sign of language, which can legitimately be defined as the conceptual meaning of a word, is inextricably linked to such a unique phenomenon of the semantic aspect of speech as the “ semantic field ”of a word. It is formed by a complex multidimensional system of semantic relations of a given word with other lexical units of the language (words, word combinations); The very same “semantic field” of a word includes all words and phrases that can be associated with a given word by various types of semantic links (semantic links of related single-root words, associative links, semantic links within interdisciplinary relationships - a link “according to the situation”, “according to the functional purpose "," according to accessories "(attributive links), etc.

The figurative and at the same time very precise concept of “semantic field”, which has the most important epistemological and methodological significance for the psychology of speech and psycholinguistics, was introduced into the science of A.R. Luria and O.S. Vinogradovoy (149, 38). The semantic field is an objectively existing side, the property of the “semantics” of a word, which defines its main characteristics as a sign of the language. The “semantic field” of a word actually and in most cases objectively reflects that system of connections and relationships that exists in an object (an object, phenomenon, event, etc.) designated by a word with other objects, phenomena or events in the surrounding reality. The phenomenon of the “semantic field” consists in the fact that its multidimensional and multidimensional objective content is enclosed, as it were, in one word, and at the same time it covers a whole, very voluminous “layer of language”. It is the “semantic field” that provides the optimal variant of using the lexical subsystem of language and speech skill in speech activity , because simultaneously with the act of actualizing a word (extracting from memory or recognizing a word that has been heard), the whole system of semantic relations “assigned” to a given word (or its significant part). This defines the enormous “functional” capabilities of the word as a sign of the language in human speech and thinking, since the word acts here as a universal “semantic matrix”, greatly expanding the possibilities of intellectual manipulation with verbal signs.

Along with the objective properties, the “semantic field” has a subjective character, since its structure and “content” are largely determined by the individual speech practice of each person, and more broadly by his whole life, cognitive experience. Based on this, the formation of the semantic field of each word is a fairly long-term, “continuous” process, inextricably linked with human cognitive activity. The main role in the formation and development of the “semantic fields” of words is played by purposeful pedagogical influence within the framework of appropriately organized “speech”, first of all “vocabulary work”. Vocabulary work, specifically aimed at the formation of the “semantic field” of each newly acquired word by a child, is of particular importance in working with children with systemic speech disorders. As shown by special experimental studies, the formation of this side of the lexical structure of speech in children with speech pathology is slow, and often defective (39, 133, 236, 242, etc.).

Modern psychology considers the word as a sign, the main function of which is an objective and generalized reflection of objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. It is obvious from the above that a generalization (with a word = sign) is possible only if it has meaning. Thanks to this ability of the word to generalize and it becomes possible to communicate people in the process of communication, because all communication requires that the sign - the word not only points to a specific subject, but also generalizes information about this subject, generalizes the visual situation; it is precisely because of this that the transmission of any thought becomes possible and its adequate understanding is ensured (95, 243). Thus, the meaning of the word, by definition, LS Vygotsky, reflects the "unity of communication and generalization" (45).

In the process of forming a child's speech, the word becomes “the basis of generalization (and thus the tool of thinking) and the means of communication — a tool of speech communication” (148, p. 57). At the same time, in the course of ontogenesis, the process of freeing the word from the symplectic context occurs (i.e., the conditionality of the meaning of the word by the situation, the child’s practical activity and practical experience) and “the transformation of the word into an element of independent codes that ensure the child’s communication with others, the communication that does not depend on this situation, this activity "(42, p. 36).

The meaning of the word as the main component of the internal content side of this universal sign of the language cannot be considered in isolation from its external "material carrier". The external apparatus or material carrier of meaning is the sound-syllable structure of words, i.e., the word as a stable sound complex (84, 123). “The meaning of a word cannot be detached from its sound side, sounds are material carriers of the non-material meaning of a word” (136, p. 129). As indicated A.A. Potebnya, "every word as a sound sign of meaning is based on a combination of sound and meaning" (176, p. 203).

In linguistics, the morphemic structure is also considered as a material carrier of the meaning of a word - with its roots, suffixes, and inflections, due to which categorization of objects denoted by the word (59, 231, 236, etc.) is indicated.

In addition to the material, the meaning of the word has an ideal carrier, which in psycholinguistics is defined as the main one. The ideal carrier of the meaning of the word is a sensual (mostly visual) image. Such is the image-representation of an object of surrounding reality (object, phenomenon, etc.), denoted by a word, in the mind of a person. Therefore, mastering the meaning of a word largely depends on the “quality” of the person’s image-representation of the subject. Many well-known teachers and psychologists of the XIX and XX centuries emphasized the importance of the formation of clear, differentiated images, representations of subjects when conducting speech, vocabulary work (23, 68, etc.). I would like to draw the attention of practitioners of speech therapists to the fact that in practical speech therapies in the works of leading Russian methodologists (TE Filicheva, 2001; SA Mironova, 1991; LF Spirova, 1980, etc.) for a long time It promotes the methodological acceptance of the active and widespread inclusion of the subject, denoted by the child’s newly acquired word, in various types of subject-practical activities of children (drawing, appliqué, designing, etc.), various options of “playing up” the subject in educational and extracurricular activities are recommended. The practical way out of the implementation of this variant of the organization of pedagogical work with children is the formation of “sustainable”, full-fledged images-representations of those subjects, which are designated by the words “new” for the child's vocabulary.

As for the material carrier, in an adult it “seems to be blurring” and is almost not realized, and in the foreground is always the content of the word, the carrier of which is a sensual image (A. R. Luria, I. A. Zimnyaya). The material carrier of the word begins to be realized when the word becomes the subject of deliberate action and analysis (for example, a child at the beginning of school, an adult when learning a foreign language). Considering that the material carrier of the word meaning is the external, material shell of the word as a sign of the language and acts as the only means of transmitting meaning in the process of speech communication, correct reproduction (production) of the external sound-syllable structure of the word is extremely important. In this regard, I would like to emphasize once again that the main purpose of speech therapy work on correcting pronunciation in children with speech disorders is not only in the psychological aspect of achieving the “level of compliance” with the phonetic norms of the native language (it is important to teach the child to speak correctly, to pronounce all sounds correctly did not differ from other normally speaking children). The main purpose of forming the correct pronunciation is to provide the possibility of full-fledged verbal communication, full-fledged social intercourse of a child, adolescent with other people on the basis of a “problem-free” full-fledged information transfer (the key to which is an adequate reproduction of the intangible meaning of words in speech ).

A word taken separately (outside the corresponding language context, but in the “context” of a particular subject-event situation) has no more than one meaning, but potentially it contains many meanings. The latter are implemented and refined in a person’s lively speech. The real use of a word is therefore always the process of choosing the right meaning from a whole system of pop-up alternatives, “with the release of some and the inhibition of other connections” (146, p. 58). This is especially clearly seen in the example of multi-valued words, for example, such as “key”, “handle”, “spit”, etc. (13, 148). “The real meaning of the word is non-constant,” pointed out L. S. Vygotsky. “In one operation, a word appears with one meaning, in another it acquires a different meaning” (43, p. 369).

The second component of the semantics of a word is its meaning . [99] By meaning, as opposed to meaning (as an objective phenomenon ), is meant its (word) individual, subjective meaning — the meaning that a word acquires for a person in each specific situation of speech activity. “In the word, along with the meaning, including subject relatedness and actual value, i.e., generalization, the assignment of a subject to known categories, there is always an individual meaning, based on the transformation of meanings, the selection of all communication system, which is relevant at the moment "(148, p. 62). Thus, the meaning of the word initially (in its "origin") is a part of the meaning of the word, necessary for a person in a certain situation of verbal communication. This definition of the second component of the semantics of the word can be illustrated by the example of the analysis of the "semantic" filling of the word. Take for example the ancient Iranian word "dog."

We will give possible options for using this word in different situations of verbal communication between people: “Wow, they live outside the city, in the village, but they don’t keep the dog”; "And the dog was in the yard, and all the same, they took everything cleaned out of the house"; “This time the hunters took the dog with them to go fishing”; “So are you going on vacation alone?” - No, why, take my dog ​​with me. Together more fun ”(remarks from the dialogue); "No, they have no cats, they have a dog, a shepherd, lives." And finally, so common and relevant: “Be careful: there is an angry dog ​​in the yard!” Obviously, in these speech utterances (or replicas utterances) this word appears in a variety of meanings and meanings.

At the same time, being an integral part, a “particle” of a general meaning, the meaning of a word appears as a phenomenon sufficiently “autonomous”, independent.

The distinction between the concepts of “meaning” and “meaning” was first introduced into the psychology of speech by L.S. Vygotsky (42, 45). The meaning of a word, by its definition, is a stable and the same for all people system of (semantic) relations behind the word. Meaning is the “individual meaning of the word”, separated from the objective system of connections; it consists of those semantic relationships that are relevant to the person at the moment.

The meaning of a word depends on the whole body of knowledge of a person, his life, including emotional, experience, on his personal qualities. Therefore, the meaning of the word is more “mobile than meaning, it is dynamic and, ultimately, inexhaustible” (45). “The meaning of the word is a complex phenomenon, mobile, constantly changing according to individual consciousnesses and for the same consciousness in accordance with the circumstances. In this respect, the meaning of the word is inexhaustible. A word acquires its meaning only in a phrase, but the phrase itself acquires meaning only in the context of a paragraph, a paragraph in the context of a book ”(43, p. 347).

Meaning as a component of the "semantics" of the word, thus, is initially social and acts as a kind of "fixer" of human social experience. A.N. Leontyev emphasized in this connection that “the meaning cannot be taught, the meaning is brought up”, it is generated not only by the meaning of the word, but also by life itself (136, p. 292). Since professional experience is also a steady social experience, it is not surprising that people of different professions often use the same words in different meanings and meanings. The meaning of the same word can be different for different people and in different situations of verbal communication. Так, для ребенка слово «виноград» означает прежде всего лакомство, для художника, кроме того, это объект изображения и эстетического наслаждения, для изготовителя сока, вина – сырье для переработки, для ученого-биолога – объект изучения, разведения и селекции (146).

Таким образом, смысл слова мы можем рассматривать как индивидуальное, каждый раз «неповторимое» мысленное содержание, которое один человек стремится передать другому в данной конкретной ситуации их социального взаимодействия.

Важно также отметить еще одно свойство смысла слова, на которое указывал Л.С. Выготский: смысл связан со всем словом (как единым звукокомплексом) в целом, но не с каждым его звуком или звукосочетанием (морфемой), точно так же, как смысл фразы связан со всей фразой в целом, а не с отдельными ее словами.

Значение и смысл слова тесно связаны между собой. Значение может быть выражено только через смысл, поскольку человек каждый раз выбирает необходимое для каждой конкретной ситуации значение слова. Овладение значением слова в онтогенезе также протекает через смысл, конкретный в данной ситуации. Ребенок, встречаясь с различными смыслами слов в разных ситуациях речевого общения, усваивает, таким образом, и значение слова. В то же время предпосылкой взаимопонимания людей в процессе речевого общения является именно значение слова, поскольку именно оно является обобщенным и объективным отражением предметного содержания явлений, именно оно зафиксировано в системе языка[100] и благодаря этому приобретает «устойчивость».

It is noteworthy that the objective meaning of the word does not always coincide with its meaning. Vivid examples of such a phenomenon are given by LS. Vygotsky in the book Thinking and Speech (45). Such, for example, is the name of the great work of N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". [101] Officially, the "dead souls" are the recently deserted serfs, the documents on which ("Revision stories") the landowner was supposed to submit to the local government bodies. In this work of art (for the author and his readers) - this is, according to L. S. Vygotsky, all the main "heroes" of the poem, who from a "biological point of view" are living people, but they are spiritually dead.

As indicated by L.S. Tsvetkova (242), the meaning of the word (including its diverse semantic content) in the act of nominating an object exists in no other way than in the form of an “individually developing verbal-thinking process”. The meaning of the word in the act of naming "equivalent", the operation by which this or that object is thought (mentally displayed in the mind). We also find a similar understanding of intellectual operations with word meanings (for example, choosing the right word for the word from a series of synonyms, choosing the right word for the word from several options, etc.) in A.N. Leontiev. Вот некоторые из его определений категории значения: «своеобразная „единица“ сознания», «категория сознания, соответствующая умственным операциям». Значение слова, в интерпретации А.Н. Леонтьева, представляет собой «акт мышления в собственном смысле слова» (136, с. 223). Такое функциональное назначение «семантики» слова (его значения и смысла) в речевой деятельности человека, на наш взгляд, является еще одним основанием для интерпретации этой деятельности как деятельности речемыслительной, поскольку она осуществляется на основе интеллектуальных действий и операций со знаками языка, операций с основными компонентами семантической структуры слова.

The category of the meaning of the word in the psychology of speech and psycholinguistics is customary to distinguish from the term "concept". Meanings are an integral part of the words themselves, which as a means of communication are included in the structure of the language. Concepts are formed in the minds of people as a result of the use of words in the process of communication in different combinations and in different meanings (148, 195, 242).

The concept can be defined as the most generalized representation (of an object, object) expressed through the signs of the language. The concept displays (“absorbs”) the basic, most important properties and qualities of the subject, as well as its functional purpose. The main difference of the concept from other generalized representations is the sign (linguistic) external form of expression. The sentence or text serves as the linguistic form of expression of the concept . There are incomparably more concepts than words; at the same time, on the basis of the same words, always known in advance to the listener (reader), many completely different and previously unknown concepts can be expressed and learned accordingly (243). The relationship and interrelation of the concept andthe meaning of the word (as well as the subject displayed by it) can be schematically represented as follows:

The objective nature of the relationship between meaning and concept, displayed on this simple scheme, is easily confirmed by the structure of the “document”, which presents the basic concepts that reflect our knowledge of the surrounding reality. Such is the encyclopedic dictionary. It is enough to open any page of its content in order to discover the above scheme (in its particular embodiment).

It is necessary to point out another important difference between the concept and the meaning of the word, which is often paid attention in psychology. If meaning is an integral component of a word as a sign of language and, therefore, has a direct relationship to the phenomena of language, then the concept is considered in psychology as a categorical apparatus of thinking processes (in particular, as the main means of categorial conceptual thinking). In this aspect, the conceptas a “tool”, a “category” of speech thinking, having a verbal form of expression, is the very connecting link that (along with the meaning of the word) unites the processes of thinking and speech. “All higher mental functions,” LS indicated. Vygotsky unites that common feature that they are mediated processes, that is, they include in their structure as a central and main part of the whole process the use of the sign, the main means of directing and mastering mental processes. In the problem of the formation of concepts, such a sign is the word, which acts as a means of the formation of concepts and becomes later their symbol ”(43, p. 126).

The regularities of the formation of concepts in the “ontogenesis of speech” were the subject of a special study by L. S. Vygotsky, L. S. Sakharova, A.R. Luria, A.A. Leontiev et al. The scientific concept of conceptualization in ontogenesis, developed by L.S. Vygotsky (45) and having developed in the works of his followers (117, 133, 195), has not undergone significant changes up to the present time and is used in domestic science as a “basic” model of the formation of this component of the “semantic aspect of speech”.

В заключение следует отметить, что знание и правильное понимание семантической природы слова (как основного и универсального знака языка) и таких его составляющих, как значение и смысл, правильная интерпретация категории понятие являются важным средством и действенным орудием в руках коррекционного педагога (как при проведении обследования детей и взрослых с нарушениями речи, так и при организации коррекционно-педагогической работы).