On The Meaning Of Illogical Expressions

"A rod without length" looks quite ordinary, with its words being commonly used ones and the syntactic formation of it also nothing special. However, when we give it a second thought, we find that we cannot possibly know what a rod without length looks like. Neither can we ever encounter such a thing nor can we even imagine it in our mind. This is apparently an illogical expression. Such illogical expressions do exist in natural languages. As to the meaning of illogical expressions, Wittgenstein claimed that we can neither imagine nor understand anything illogical, which means such illogical expressions as "a rod without length" are unimaginable and meaningless. If illogical expressions are simply meaningless indeed, then it must also be something of truth that what the Chinese proverb "tai yang cong xi bian chu lai"(太阳从西边出来,"the sun rises up from the west") expresses cannot be put into imagination and this expression is simple nonsense too, as this expression also expresses something contravening the laws of logic. However, it is a fact that not only what this expression tries to express can be imagined (we can imagine a picture in our mind with the sun rising from the west) but also this proverb is widely used as a meaningful expression which has been passed on among Chinese users for generations. To simply say that illogical expressions are meaningless would be a clear violation against reality. Therefore, there arose a contradiction where what is known as a fact about the Chinese proverb contravenes what Wittgenstein quite convincingly claimed.Why is there such a contradiction and how can it be solved? Can we really imagine illogical things? Is it really true that illogical expressions are unthinkable? The purpose of this thesis is to explore into the question and propose some ideas on the meaning of illogical expressions. We propose in this thesis that it is not true to say that all illogical expressions are simply nonsense. Illogical expressions can be quite meaningful and useful in language. We reach this conclusion by two steps. The first is to question the theoretical reasoning of the meaninglessness of illogical expressions. The second is to justify that illogical expressions can be actually used in specific contexts by presenting with practical uses of illogical proverbs both in English and in Chinese.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One introduces the background to the study, defines the scope of the study, and then expounds the purpose and significance of this study. Chapter Two is an overview of the few studies concerning the meaning of illogical expressions. Chapter Three puts forward the theoretical reasoning of the meaninglessness of illogical expression, and then questions it. Chapter Four justifies that illogical expressions can be actually used in English and in Chinese, and then explores the possible way these illogical expressions get their meaning. Chapter Five is the conclusion, expounds the significance of the study, points out the imperfection of the thesis, and then put forward the possible ways for further studies on this.