What do the words "I'm tired" mean to you?
This brings to mind the Cobweb Theory that we have learnt in class, where words in the mind are linked together in a gigantic multi-dimensional cobweb, in which every item is attached to scores of others, according to Aitchison. This illustrates one of the various theories surrounding the mental lexicon.
For the mum, the words "I'm tired" are associated with the events that have occurred in the day, and the household chores that she has done. However, for the dad, when he says "I'm tired", it just means that he wants to sleep, and he goes to sleep right away. This may be because of the different gender roles played by the mum and the dad. Being a mother, she's worried about her children, and her mind revolves around her household chores and all things related to her children. On the other hand, the dad may have just returned home from a long day's work, he's tired, and he just goes to sleep.
Perhaps this shows that the mental lexicon operates differently for males and females. Haha.
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