Meaning in Language – From Individual to Collective

Meaning lies at the very heart of the development of language. Therefore, it is not surprising that the linguists have long been fascinated by the study of meaning, from the early days of the discipline to the present. Over time, the approach to meaning has evolved, shifting from structuralist analyses of linguistic signs to a focus on the combinatory potential of grammatical structures. Currently, the dominant cognitive-semantics approach examines meaning in relation to concepts and the abilities of the human brain. One of the most intriguing questions throughout the history of semantics has been the relationship between an individual and the linguistic community within the framework of the wider sign-meaning relation. This essential but insufficiently explored relationship was the central topic of the 33rd International Conference of the Croatian Applied Linguistics Society.

Anita Memiševic´ is an associate professor at the English Department of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. Her research interests include semantics of verbs and verbal prefixes, bilingualism, psycholinguistics, cognitive linguistics, neurolinguistics and translation. She has published and presented a number of papers in Croatia and abroad and has authored a book on the grammar of the English language. She has also co-edited three books of proceedings.

Mihaela Matešic´ is an associate professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Rijeka, Croatia. Her research interests include phonology, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics and cognitive linguistics. As a main researcher or a member of a research team, she has contributed to various scientific projects at the national, international and university levels. She is an author and co-editor of several books, as well as an author and co-author of many scientific papers published in Croatia and abroad.