A semiotic-conceptual analysis of conceptual development in learning mathematics

Uta Priss

pp. 173-188

in: Norma Presmeg, Luis Radford, Wolff-Michael Roth, Gert Kadunz (eds), Signs of signification, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

This chapter investigates examples of mathematical concepts that students find difficult to learn from a semiotic-conceptual perspective. Semiotic and linguistic features that contribute to the perceived difficulty of mathematical language are identified. This chapter suggests that natural language and mathematical language differ with respect to their semiotic-conceptual structure: while natural language is interpreted using associative concepts, the meanings of mathematical concepts are formal and must not be interpreted in an associative manner.