use/mention distinction

use/mention distinction
The distinction between using a word, such as ‘cat’, to talk about cats, and mentioning the word, as one would if pointing out that ‘cat’ has three letters. The distinction becomes important when the possibility of mistaking use and mention arises, and philosophers often like to believe that those who do not share their views have made such a confusion. A belief shared by many logical positivists was that what appear to be perhaps fundamental or especially profound remarks about things (five is a number; necessarily matter is extended) are in fact reflections of conventions governing terminology (‘five’ refers to a number; ‘matter’ refers to whatever fills extended regions of space). See also formal/material mode of speech.

Philosophy dictionary. . 2011.

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  • Use–mention distinction — The use–mention distinction (sometimes referred to as the words as words distinction) is the distinction between using a word (or phrase) and mentioning it. For example, the following two sentences illustrate use and mention of the word cheese… …   Wikipedia

  • use-mention distinction — noun A distinction between the use of a word for its meaning (as in Cheese is derived from milk ) and the mention of a word as a lexical unit (as in Cheese is derived from a word in Old English ). Syn: words as words distinction …   Wiktionary

  • Use — may refer to:* Use (law), an obligation on a person to whom property has been conveyed * Use mention distinction, the distinction between using a word and mentioning it See also * USE …   Wikipedia

  • mention (and use) of words — See use/mention distinction …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Distinction T-V — La distinction T(u) V(ous) ─ ou « distinction entre le tutoiement et le vouvoiement/voussoiement » ─ est un concept grammatical et linguistique familier aux locuteurs de langues indo européennes (sauf dans le cas de l anglais moderne,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Distinction Tu-Vous — Distinction T V La distinction T(u) V(ous) ─ ou « distinction entre le tutoiement et le vouvoiement/voussoiement » ─ est un concept grammatical et linguistique familier aux locuteurs de langues indo européennes (sauf dans le cas de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Distinction t-v — La distinction T(u) V(ous) ─ ou « distinction entre le tutoiement et le vouvoiement/voussoiement » ─ est un concept grammatical et linguistique familier aux locuteurs de langues indo européennes (sauf dans le cas de l anglais moderne,… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Distinction tu-vous — Distinction T V La distinction T(u) V(ous) ─ ou « distinction entre le tutoiement et le vouvoiement/voussoiement » ─ est un concept grammatical et linguistique familier aux locuteurs de langues indo européennes (sauf dans le cas de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • T-V distinction — Distinction T V La distinction T(u) V(ous) ─ ou « distinction entre le tutoiement et le vouvoiement/voussoiement » ─ est un concept grammatical et linguistique familier aux locuteurs de langues indo européennes (sauf dans le cas de l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • T-V distinction — In sociolinguistics, a T V distinction describes the situation wherein a language has second person pronouns that distinguish varying levels of politeness, social distance, courtesy, familiarity, or insult toward the addressee. History and… …   Wikipedia

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