betydninger

Betydninger is the plural form of betydning, a term used in linguistics and philosophy of language to refer to the meanings associated with signs such as words, phrases, and symbols. In dictionaries and linguistic analysis, betydninger describe what a sign denotes, conveys, or represents in a given context. The concept is central to how humans understand and communicate about the world.

In semantics, betydninger can be analyzed as sense and reference. Sense refers to the mental content or concept associated with a term, while reference is the actual entity or set of entities in the world that the term points to. The distinction helps explain how words can be used in different contexts to convey similar or related meanings. Philosophers such as Frege and Saussure have shaped this discussion, contrasting the idea of signified or sense with the signifier and its signified in a linguistic system.

Sign meanings also display variation through polysemy and homonymy. A single word form may carry several related meanings (polysemy) or entirely different ones (homonymy). Understanding betydninger often requires context, which can alter interpretation or reveal figurative, metaphorical, or idiomatic meanings that go beyond literal denotation.

Studying betydninger involves lexicography, corpus linguistics, and pragmatics. Researchers compile sense inventories, analyze usage patterns, and examine how context disambiguates meaning. Meanings evolve over time, and cross-linguistic translation poses challenges when no exact equivalent exists. Cultural factors, metaphor, and language change all shape how betydninger are formed, compared, and transmitted.