Volume 20, Issue 4

Lotmanian semiotics comprises a complex and wide-encompassing system for understanding meaning-making in culture and cultural dynamics more generally. Its complexity is compounded by Lotman’s historically and artistically minded orientation. In this paper we propose a brief rereading of a particular aspect of Lotmanian theory – what we will term Lotmanian semantics  – based on an interpretation of modeling systems theory that, by our account, retains the form of the original by appealing to the notion of language employed by Lotman and deployed as propositional thought qua language. We revisit Sebeok’s critique of modeling systems theory and find it unnecessary for the interpretation that we make of Lotman’s semiotics, and we then propose a two-level interpretation of the theory that allows us to describe both perceptual and cultural phenomena as different semantic kinds.

The paper argues that the hitherto developed linguistic pragmatics can observe cultural conditions of communication acts and empirically accessible interpersonal relationships between communication participants. However, linguistic pragmatics cannot thoroughly probe into the fundamental nature of communicative intentions nor into the mental endowments of human individuals. Pragmatics in the domain of linguistic studies shows that what constitute the investigative objects in the domain of pragmatic studies are the principles, rules, and maxims of interpersonal rhetoric, which are used in dyadic and small groups and, to a lesser degree, in public and mass communication. Therefore, the paper justifies the postulates to elaborate a conceptual and methodological framework that might apply to studying the relational aspects and inherent constituents of intercultural communication in multinational societies, such as intimacy, partnership, cooperation, competition, combat, and the like. It claims that as a comprehensive research tool, this framework might help check how the general requirements of cross-cultural coexistence are observed by communicating agents adhering to different civilizational traditions, customs, and philosophical and religious beliefs. On such an assumption, the investigative domain of interpersonal rhetoric would comprise, as is asserted, not only the norms of interaction operating in a given society but also knowledge about the universal qualities of human beings.

This study examines the naming practices of 303 coffee shop brand names in Shanghai from the perspectives of language choice, linguistic form, and semantic content, which are integral considerations in the naming process. All the collected names were categorized for various characteristics across these three dimensions. The results identify a number of characteristics of the coffee shop names, namely, the dominance of non-Chinese languages, widespread nonstandard forms, and various semantic content themes, including evocative names, emphasis on shop ambiance, business description, inclusion of subcultural elements, personalized names, and the use of positive descriptors and markers of geographical location. A content analysis of these names reveals that coffee shops are typically constructed as exotic, modern, trendy places that are popular among young customers. More notably, coffee shop naming is a trans-spatial practice that transforms the coffee shops into multirole sites and serves as a semiotic assemblage conveying special meaning to patrons; that is, the shops not only serve coffee and other food and beverages but may also provide an exotic cultural atmosphere in which customers receive emotional and spiritual sustenance, interact with friends, and even have surreal experiences.

Images have the potential to both alienate and unite. Due to their ideological power, images can both create and clear misconceptions. To analyze the semiotic variation in the portrayal of women in contemporary art in relation to feminine identities and ideological representations, the study analyzes the choice of ideational signs in the contemporary Chinese and Pakistani paintings on the basis of the social semiotic approach of the grammar of visual design suggested by Kress and van Leeuwen. Considering diversity of themes and portrayal of women, 30 Pakistani and 30 Chinese paintings, painted by 17 Chinese and 17 Pakistani male and female painters were selected through an information-rich sampling technique. Results suggest that loneliness, waiting, leisure, and love for nature are the common themes related to Chinese and Pakistani women which the painters have creatively modeled. The images vary in the sense that Chinese women have been represented in constructive gender roles, such as working women, ballerinas, sports women, and hardworking farmers, etc., while Pakistani women have been represented in terms of resistance, oppression, victimhood, religiosity, and protection. The study has implications for gender studies, multimodal representations, and the way we comprehend, describe, and construct the interconnected yet fragmented fabric of our world.

In literature, color words serve as important carriers for writers to convey their emotions. In this paper, color words in literary works written by over 30 famous writers from different countries and regions in world literature are selected as the research object. According to the frequency of their use in the selected literary works, our analysis divides the different color symbols into two types: high-frequency and low-frequency. Among the various color symbols, red, blue, white, black, and yellow are classified as high-frequency color symbols. Purple, gray, green, and brown belong to low-frequency color symbols. Comparatively speaking, the metaphorical meanings of high-frequency color symbols are richer and more diverse, while the symbolic meanings of low-frequency color symbols are relatively simple. Through the analysis of the color symbols in the literary works, we find that there is a benign interaction between color symbols and literary works. On the one hand, writers convey their pursuit of art and aesthetics through color symbols. Color symbols become a perfect medium for them to express ideas, show themes, and construct characters. On the other hand, literary works also expand and enrich the metaphorical meaning of color symbols.

This paper explores the war-based narrative of the COVID-19 discourse in Italy and China, with a focus on female imagery and the conceptualization of female heroism. Employing Umberto Eco’s notion of intertextuality, we analyze influential texts – including texts from social media, journalism, and art – emerging from the pandemic’s first wave in China and Italy to examine how female healthcare workers are depicted as pandemic heroes and highlight the complex interplay between gender representation and cultural topoi . Although casting women in heroic roles traditionally dominated by men may seem progressive, our analysis reveals that such portrayals actually reinforce existing gender stereotypes in both cultures. Our intertextual analysis reveals the extent to which the pandemic narrative has both reflected and perpetuated gender inequalities. This comparative semiotic study contributes to critically assessing the impact of pandemic-related female imagery on societal gender norms and expectations.