1997, Pragmatics 7(1): 21-54

A theoretical approach & a case study of word meaning are presented. The formalistic & the sociologizing approach to word meaning is critiqued in favor of a dynamic theory that includes both variant & invariant parts of word meaning & the conflicting aspects of the society & the division within the conscious/unconscious subject. Valentin N. Voloshinov's (eg, 1976) theory of word meaning, along with Michel Pecheux's (1982) view of the speaking subject & Louis Althusser's (1971) idea of the interpellated subject, is adopted. It is argued that word meaning is never independent of the speaking subject's ideological framework. Word meaning is divided into the concepts "n-meaning" (normative meaning), "c-meaning" (contingent meaning), & the proposition "accent" (the ideological value judgment). Accent is associated with the political & social identity of the interpellated subject as corroborated by the case study of the use of the Israeli Hebrew words for 'death' & 'injury' in Haggai Segal's "axim yekarim":korot "hamaxteret hayehudit" (["Dear Brothers": The Story of "The Jewish Underground"] 1987). It is shown that lexical meaning is intertwined with the historical & political & with the conscious & the subconscious; thus, the "objective" use of words is rendered impossible. 34 References.
[S. Godjevac, LLBA]