http://blogs.najah.edu/author/emp_2146 An-Najah Blogs :: en-us Sat, 27 Apr 2024 01:10:15 IDT Sat, 27 Apr 2024 01:10:15 IDT [email protected] [email protected] http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_2146/article/Words-Like-Silver-Fish-Published ArticlesWhen we teach meaning in language we usually resort to the solid security offered by the authority of the dictionary But the assistance that dictionaries-even the best of them-afford us is retarded by the dual nature of semantics: the meaning and the meaning-potential of words The former with its clearly demarcated boundaries and concrete nature poses little problem for the lexicographer; but the nebulous quality of the latter is harder to crystallize in clearcut definition simply because meaning-potential stems from an amalgamation of cultural experiential and sensory imprints gathered over a lifetime and varies from individual to individual The mysterious power that words have cannot be attributed solely to their meaning since they move us by their sound texture shape colour and even taste