People, environment, language and meaning: values in nature and the nature of 'values'

Journal Contribution ResearchOnline@JCU
Dillon, Denise
Abstract

[Extract] The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WTWHA) in Australia's North Queensland provides the real world social and applied context for considering an example of language dynamism. In its use as a social activity, language imbues the world with meaning, and in turn derives meaning, through interplay among language, thought and experience (Landauer and Dumais p211; Cruse p125). How people come to conceptualise complex words and ideas depends on different cultures and languages of use (including public, workplace and scientific subcultures and terminologies). As an added factor, certain expressions function as 'buzzwords' or 'catchphrases' to invoke an emotive reaction (Little 929). Whereas emotive language works for general communication, situations requiring precise meanings for shared terminologies might result in the dismissal of mistreated terms as poorly defined and inconsequential (Callicott, Crowder and Mumford p23; Hull et al. p11).

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Language and Ecology

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3

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2

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10

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