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Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository

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meaning is determined by the relationship between the word and its<br />

referent. Sentence meaning is defined in terms <strong>of</strong> the contribution<br />

<strong>of</strong> each word to the overall meaning <strong>of</strong> the sentence. Meaning at<br />

the level <strong>of</strong> communication is identified in terms <strong>of</strong> the semantic<br />

behaviour <strong>of</strong> words and sentence in the act <strong>of</strong> communication. R M<br />

Kempson (1977, pll) puts it more explicitly when she refers to the<br />

three ways <strong>of</strong> approaching meaning by "a) defining the nature <strong>of</strong><br />

word meaning; b) defining the nature <strong>of</strong> sentence meaning; and c)<br />

explaining the process <strong>of</strong> communication". This three-dimensional<br />

approach to semantics coincides with our definition <strong>of</strong> translation<br />

as a pragma-semio-communicative activity. The basic aspect <strong>of</strong><br />

meaning is that which is related to the seme, the minimal unit <strong>of</strong><br />

the sign since language is basically a system <strong>of</strong> signs. The<br />

significance <strong>of</strong> the sign is not self-generated; it generates<br />

through referentiality, ie. the relationship between the sign and<br />

its referent.<br />

The meaning <strong>of</strong> a text is, on the whole, a wholistic entity<br />

extractable from the meanings <strong>of</strong> words or word combinations. We<br />

have divided it into three categories or layers for purposes <strong>of</strong><br />

analysis and identification. Basically, the three layers <strong>of</strong><br />

meaning are inextricably interwoven into the fabric <strong>of</strong> the text.<br />

B. EXTENDED MEANING<br />

Extended meaning, as the term suggests, implies that though<br />

intricately intersewn into the fabric <strong>of</strong> the text, it is easily<br />

140

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