The language of taste. Issue 6 (17th August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lehrer, Keith; Lehrer, Adrienne
• Is Part Of: Inquiry. Volume 59:Issue 6(2016)
• Page Start: 752
• Page End: 765
• Publication Date: 2016-08-17
• Subjects: Semantic fields -- metaphor -- winetalk -- reference -- communal meaning -- delegated authority -- consensus -- David Hume -- John Lyons -- Paul Ziff; Philosophy -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; Philosophy -- Periodicals; Social Sciences -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; Philosophie -- Périodiques; Sciences sociales -- Philosophie -- Périodiques; 105
• DOI: 10.1080/0020174X.2016.1208925
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0020-174X

Abstract

Abstract: This is a jointly written paper. It has two parts: an empirical part and a theoretical one. Part one, the empirical part, is written by Adrienne Lehrer and describes the language of taste, illustrated by the vocabulary for wine language. The language of the taste of wine often has both a descriptive and evaluate element. Using wine talk as an example, one wine may be described as fruity, acidic, and light, and another as sour, unbalanced, and thin . The second uses highly evaluative terms not found in the first. We analyze the structure of the semantic field of wine descriptors, both literal and metaphoric. A heavy wine uses a deal metaphor, but recent wine writers have expanded the vocabulary by terms such as brawny and muscular . The authority of experts, the advantages and pitfalls thereof, in the description of wine is considered as an instance of delegation of semantic authority. Part two, written by Keith Lehrer, deals with the theoretical implications for a theory of meaning. The theory of word meaning we developed earlier consists of two parts: reference and sense, where reference is how the word is applied to the world and sense to the relationships between words. The theory is stochastic and is based on the respect that speakers assign to the usage of each other. Although reference and sense are closely related in language use, neither can be reduced to the other because how words are applied to objects might conflict with how words are related to each other in the usage with a speech community.