Words in the mirror
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Luca Nobile
Abstract
This paper proposes a theoretical, methodological and descriptive framework for combining a gestural-mimetic theory of the sign with the principle of arbitrariness. First, it draws attention to the history of the question, discusses its theoretical core and presents a method to analyse the relationship between the differential system of phono-articulatory signifiers and the differential system of logical-semantic signifieds. Next, this method is tested on the Italian grammatical monosyllables, focusing on a complete description of the words formed from one phoneme (‘monophonemes’), of the words distinguishing grammatical persons and of the adverbial pairs. The main result is that phono-articulatory oppositions (such as [open : closed] and [front : back]) can be systematically described as images of logical-semantic oppositions (such as {complex : simple} and {positive : negative}, respectively). In Section 3, a number of conclusions are drawn, particularly about the difference between linguistic ‘values’ and psychological ‘concepts’.
Abstract
This paper proposes a theoretical, methodological and descriptive framework for combining a gestural-mimetic theory of the sign with the principle of arbitrariness. First, it draws attention to the history of the question, discusses its theoretical core and presents a method to analyse the relationship between the differential system of phono-articulatory signifiers and the differential system of logical-semantic signifieds. Next, this method is tested on the Italian grammatical monosyllables, focusing on a complete description of the words formed from one phoneme (‘monophonemes’), of the words distinguishing grammatical persons and of the adverbial pairs. The main result is that phono-articulatory oppositions (such as [open : closed] and [front : back]) can be systematically described as images of logical-semantic oppositions (such as {complex : simple} and {positive : negative}, respectively). In Section 3, a number of conclusions are drawn, particularly about the difference between linguistic ‘values’ and psychological ‘concepts’.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface and acknowledgements ix
- Introduction xi
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Part I. Word forms, word formation, and meaning
- Toward a phonosemantic definition of iconic words 3
- Iconic thinking and the contact-induced transfer of linguistic material 19
- Ezra Pound among the Mawu 39
- Cognitive iconic grounding of reduplication in language 55
- Imagic iconicity in the Chinese language 83
- Words in the mirror 101
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Part II. General theoretical approaches
- Un mélange genevois 135
- How to put art and brain together 149
- Image, diagram, and metaphor 157
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Part III. Narrative grammatical structures
- The farmers sowed seeds and hopes 175
- Non-iconic chronology in English narrative texts 191
- A burning world of war 211
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Part IV. Cognitive poetics
- Aesthetic qualities as structural resemblance 233
- Mental space mapping in classical Chinese poetry 251
- Iconicity in conceptual blending 269
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Part V. Acoustic and visual iconicity
- Thematized iconicity and iconic devices in the modern novel 291
- Iconicity and intermediality in Charles Simic’s Dime-Store Alchemy 313
- Words, like shells, are signs as well as things 327
- Unveiling creative subplots through the non-traditional application of diagrammatic iconicity 343
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Part VI. Intermedial iconicity
- The iconic indexicality of photography 355
- Unbinding the text 369
- Argumentative, iconic, and indexical structures in Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin 389
- John Irving’s A Widow for One Year and Tod Williams’ The Door in the Floor as ‘(mult-)i-conic’ works of art 405
- Author index 423
- Subject index 425
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface and acknowledgements ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Word forms, word formation, and meaning
- Toward a phonosemantic definition of iconic words 3
- Iconic thinking and the contact-induced transfer of linguistic material 19
- Ezra Pound among the Mawu 39
- Cognitive iconic grounding of reduplication in language 55
- Imagic iconicity in the Chinese language 83
- Words in the mirror 101
-
Part II. General theoretical approaches
- Un mélange genevois 135
- How to put art and brain together 149
- Image, diagram, and metaphor 157
-
Part III. Narrative grammatical structures
- The farmers sowed seeds and hopes 175
- Non-iconic chronology in English narrative texts 191
- A burning world of war 211
-
Part IV. Cognitive poetics
- Aesthetic qualities as structural resemblance 233
- Mental space mapping in classical Chinese poetry 251
- Iconicity in conceptual blending 269
-
Part V. Acoustic and visual iconicity
- Thematized iconicity and iconic devices in the modern novel 291
- Iconicity and intermediality in Charles Simic’s Dime-Store Alchemy 313
- Words, like shells, are signs as well as things 327
- Unveiling creative subplots through the non-traditional application of diagrammatic iconicity 343
-
Part VI. Intermedial iconicity
- The iconic indexicality of photography 355
- Unbinding the text 369
- Argumentative, iconic, and indexical structures in Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin 389
- John Irving’s A Widow for One Year and Tod Williams’ The Door in the Floor as ‘(mult-)i-conic’ works of art 405
- Author index 423
- Subject index 425
