Gostak

The phrase "the gostak distims the doshes" was coined in 1923 by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards in their book The Meaning of Meaning. It is an example of how it is possible to derive meaning from the syntax of a sentence even if the referents of the terms are entirely unknown. This can be seen in the following dialogue:

Related Topics:
1923 - C. K. Ogden - I. A. Richards - Syntax - Referents

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Q: What is the gostak?

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A: The gostak distims the doshes.

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Q: What's distimming?

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A: Distimming is that which the gostak does to the doshes.

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Q: Okay, but what are doshes?

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A: The doshes are what the gostak distims.

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In this case, it is possible to describe the relationships between the terms in the sentence -- that the gostak is that which distims the doshes, that distimming is what the gostak does to the doshes, etc. -- even though there is no fact of the matter about what a gostak or doshes actually are.

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