Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language, Essay Example

In my opinion, Marcel Danesi that culture plays a primary role towards understanding meanings, as well as objects of the society. This is because human beings create meaning in order to interpret and communicate perceived phenomena. Thus, grouping an object based on selected criteria prevailing in a given culture, attaching value to it, and judging its aesthetic appeal, are all mental operations, that in one way or another, give a meaning to the phenomenal world, hence promoting communication. The diverse cultures based on a semiotic view of Danesi, acknowledge the significance of the interpreter in communication in attributing meaning; however, could also acknowledge the intrinsic qualities of the object, which direct the interpretations that may be produced (Marsen, 2006). I believe that the meaning is generated from such interaction of the qualities of the perceived object with qualities of the perceived object with qualities of the perceiving subject. Furthermore, culture allows us to “read” people either in real-life or in mass-mediated texts, like ads, and films, which allow us to pay a great deal of attention to things, such as clothing, hairstyles, and shoes and their body ornaments. These all fall under material culture, which allows an individual to understand the message conveyed by such objects and artifacts, which gives the picture in the way these people are alike. They are important towards  communication founded on the attached meanings to the objects and artifacts, for example (Allan & Burridge, 2006). Moreover, different cultures have different rules and codes of their language that allows communication to take place among those who understand these codes and rules. Finally, I agree with with Danesi in that without culture, then it could have been hard to understand the meaning attached to objects and things, hence making communication difficult.

References

Allan, K. and Burridge, K. (2006). Forbidden words: Taboo and the censoring of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Marsen, S. (2006). How to mean without saying: presupposition and implication revisited, Semiotica 160 (1/4): 120-146.