Semiotic foundations of natural linguistics and diagrammatic iconicity
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Winfried Nöth
Abstract
The paper examines the semiotic foundations of Natural Linguistics with special reference to diagrammatic iconicity. In accordance with C. S. Peirce’s semiotics, naturalness in language is described as a substratum of iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs. Diagrammatic iconicity in language is more than form-meaning isomorphism; it is a structure inherent in the verbal form itself irrespective of whether the diagram is used to represent anything at all. The rules of word formation, syntax, and the structures of discourse constitute verbal diagrams. The system of language is a diagrammatic rhematic legisign. A pure diagram is a relational form without reference to anything else. Diagrams that represent in connection with indexical reference are diagrammatic hypoicons. This is the kind of diagram which has been studied in Natural Linguistics so far. Diagrams in language are both cognitively necessary and rhetorically efficient since icons are superior to other signs when clearness of representation and coherence of argumentation is concerned.
Abstract
The paper examines the semiotic foundations of Natural Linguistics with special reference to diagrammatic iconicity. In accordance with C. S. Peirce’s semiotics, naturalness in language is described as a substratum of iconic, indexical, and symbolic signs. Diagrammatic iconicity in language is more than form-meaning isomorphism; it is a structure inherent in the verbal form itself irrespective of whether the diagram is used to represent anything at all. The rules of word formation, syntax, and the structures of discourse constitute verbal diagrams. The system of language is a diagrammatic rhematic legisign. A pure diagram is a relational form without reference to anything else. Diagrams that represent in connection with indexical reference are diagrammatic hypoicons. This is the kind of diagram which has been studied in Natural Linguistics so far. Diagrams in language are both cognitively necessary and rhetorically efficient since icons are superior to other signs when clearness of representation and coherence of argumentation is concerned.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Editors ix
- Introduction: Naturalness and iconicity in language 1
- Philosophical naturalism and linguistic epistemology 25
- Prolegomena to a general theory of iconicity considerations on language, gesture, and pictures 47
- Semiotic foundations of natural linguistics and diagrammatic iconicity 73
- Naturalness and markedness 101
- Natural and unnatural sound patterns: A pocket field guide 121
- The iconic function of full inversion in English 149
- What is iconic about polysemy? A contribution to research on diagrammatic Transparency 167
- Iconicity in sign languages 189
- Arbitrary structure, cognitive grammar, and the partes orationis. A study in Polish paradigms 215
- Name index 241
- Subject index 245
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Editors ix
- Introduction: Naturalness and iconicity in language 1
- Philosophical naturalism and linguistic epistemology 25
- Prolegomena to a general theory of iconicity considerations on language, gesture, and pictures 47
- Semiotic foundations of natural linguistics and diagrammatic iconicity 73
- Naturalness and markedness 101
- Natural and unnatural sound patterns: A pocket field guide 121
- The iconic function of full inversion in English 149
- What is iconic about polysemy? A contribution to research on diagrammatic Transparency 167
- Iconicity in sign languages 189
- Arbitrary structure, cognitive grammar, and the partes orationis. A study in Polish paradigms 215
- Name index 241
- Subject index 245
