What's a symbol, ®?

What's a symbol, ®? A symbol, "®" or even "$, #, &, etc." is the visual representation of an idea or concept. The symbol is only ever visual and never has any auditory component. The auditory component of a symbol is a linguistic event and NOT a symbolic experience.

A symbol, "®," can have a linguistic term attached to it, such as the term "registered," but any linguistic component is distinct and separate from the symbol itself. If we look at the symbol for the term ampersand, "&," we recognize the difference between either, as isolated events, but the term "ampersand" is an English language term and is something entirely different than the symbol. As a matter of fact, the term "ampersand" in French is "esperluette." All natural languages are based on terms that are a combination of symbols -- "a, b, c..." etc. The symbol itself is not utterable or audible but the sound or audible utterance that we connect to it is. "®eality" does make a sound... but can you hear it speak?

Please visit www.registereality.com for an interactive video experience and for more information regarding this topic.

By, Mathew Quaschnick